LIVERPOOL, Pa. — On Tuesday, dozens of people gathered at the Ferryboat Campground Rec Center near Liverpool and made hundreds of road signs, calling on Watts Township officials to stop a proposed warehouse project.
Township officials have been working with MRP Industrial, a company based in Baltimore, to build a two million-square-foot warehouse facility on a tract of land along Taylor Road and Amity Road. Several residents believe the warehouse would increase traffic along Route 322 and 11/15, as well as take away part of Perry County's agricultural identity.
“They’re taking all the trucks off Amity Road, which means it’s going to be backed up, I bet you, all the way past Clark’s Ferry," said Ken Shull, a township resident. “I don’t want it, nobody wants it in the township.”
“It is a special place and paving it is not protecting Perry County’s natural resources," said Roxanne Harpster, a township resident.
Perry County Commissioner Larry Reisinger said Watts Township officials have been working on the project for months. Despite the county having little involvement with the project, Reisinger believes the warehouse could benefit the local economy.
“I would love to see jobs in Perry County and that would be a great location, in my point of view," said Reisinger.
Protest organizer Gene Stilp said opposing the warehouse is about preserving what people love about Perry County.
“Here, it’s not a question about jobs, it’s a question about changing the whole nature of Perry County," said Stilp.
FOX43 reached out to Watts Township officials, as well as MRP Industrial to talk about the warehouse. However, both were unavailable to comment as of Tuesday, Sept. 5.
