LEWISTOWN - During the Mifflin County Planning Comission meeting on Thursday afternoon Bill Gomes, director of the Planning and Development Department, gave the comission members a review of what still needs to happen before the extensive Derry Heights project can get underway- and there is still quite a bit of work to be done.

Project developer Nick Moraitis, of Pittsburgh, plans to build hotels, a digital movie theater, sports complex and an indoor water park near the Burnham/Yeagertown U.S. 322 exit. The first phase of the project consists of building a five-story Hampton Inn Hotel and a Damon's Steak House.

"I know people want to see this move forward but there seem to be a lot of things that keep coming back up on this," Gomes said.

Gomes listed several comments the planning department had made on the project plans, which still have not been addressed. He added that the department has not seen a sewage planning model, the status of water and sewer availability and the status of the developers agreement are unknown; National Pollutants Discharge Elimination System permit has still not been obtained by the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, and the project's master plan has not been submitted to the department.

Gomes also brought up the developers propensity to change the layout of the development as slowing down the advancement of the project.

"The things he's changing - it doesn't help the process move forward," Gomes said. "It's not helping the situation everytime they change things."

The committee discussed the developer's plan to change the location of the restaurant as well their plan to limit access around the movie theatre from all the way around the building to only three sides, in which case Gomes said the developer will need to resubmit their plan.

The developer also is seeking an easement, which would allow them to exchange the parking space size from 19 feet to 16.5 feet for 71 of the proposed 250 parking spaces. Other easement requests pertain to paving specification and cul-de-sac lengths.

At an event hosted by the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce in May, the attorney involved with the project Rob Dauer, said the group tentatively planned to begin construction within 90 days, which would have put their start date in mid-July.

"When they make comments that they are going to break ground in 90 days that does not look realistic when you look at these things that are happening right now. All we are saying is that this (the plan) is going to have come back ... we did not charge for (review of) the last round of corrections but if he (Moraitis) does more changes, I will ask that we start to charge."

Comission member Dan Dunmire, who also is the Mifflin County Conservation District manager, said that the conservation district is also charging the developer for review.

"We have a policy at the (Mifflin County) Conservation District that when they submit plans for review they get two ... beyond that we have an option of charging," Dunmire said. "That has been on our books for three or four years and we instituted it for the first time ever on this project - we're on the fourth review."

On Thursday evening, Dauer said that the developer is very near to commencing construction on the project.

"We are still hoping to break ground in September. I don't see any real impediments to that," Dauer said.

In June, the Derry Township supervisors gave final approval of the plan for phase one of the project. However, Dauer said the developer submitted a second plan, which is currently under review by the planning department, since the group opted to make some changes.

The second phase of the project, which has about a 12-to-24-month time frame, will consist of building an indoor water park facility and two additional hotels and a sports complex expected to be completed by the end of 2012 or 2013.