The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners discussed the township’s alleys maintenance ordinance with several residents during a workshop following the July 24 township meeting.

Township commissioners voted 5-0 at the July 10 meeting to table the ordinance to remove maintenance requirements of a previously-approved authorized directive to maintain public or private alleys and cartways by the public works department.

The ordinance may be on the agenda for a vote at the next township commissioners’ meeting, 7 p.m. Aug. 14 in the meeting room of the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.

Jim Levernier, director, Salisbury Township Public Works Department, said at the June 26 and July 10 township meetings and the July 24 workshop township equipment is getting damaged during snowplowing because of the poor condition of private alleys and non-township owned streets.

Levernier and Stan G. Wojciechowski, department head, municipal engineering services, Barry Isett & Associates, Inc., township consulting engineering firm, have been reviewing township public streets and private alleys.

Levernier has emphasized public roads, or those owned and maintained by the township, would continue to be snowplowed.

For some reason, and township officials are uncertain why, or for how many years, some non-township streets and private roads have been plowed during snowstorms by township public works crews.

The ordinance states in part:

“Previous township policies required the public works department to maintain and plow specific alleys and other areas not defined as streets;

“The Township of Salisbury will no longer maintain public and private alleys not defined as official streets in the public highway system of the Township of Salisbury.”

Township residents at the July 24 workshop and at the July 10 and June 26 township meetings expressed concerns about the proposed streets maintenance ordinance.

“We provided some options to commissioners,” Attorney Jason A. Ulrich, partner, Gross McGinley, LLP, township solicitor firm, said at the July 24 workshop during which approximately one hour was devoted to the alley maintenance ordinance topic.

In presenting four options to commissioners concerning private streets, Ulrich noted a decision to resume maintenance would require a vote to reinstate Policy No. 400.3, which ended plowing and cindering of specific alleys and cartways, approved April 10.

“Just because you are on a private road doesn’t mean we can maintain it,” Ulrich said during the workshop. “The bigger concern is the snow removal. It’s too much to have a breakdown during a snowstorm.”

Among the residents at the workshop, Mark Traub said, “I think a lot of the concerns are of Salisbury residents who have private roads and it was maintained and now it’s not.”

Before a private road is accepted by a township it must meet certain standards set by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. These standards include the width of the road.

The workshop discussion about the township parks pavilion rental policy was postponed.

During the July 24 township meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a resolution approving the township’s official sewage facilities planning module for the 1226 Vermont Ave. minor subdivision.

Commissioner Heather Lipkin made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Alex Karol, to bring the resolution to a vote.

The August Salisbury Township municipal meeting schedule includes: 7 p.m. Aug. 13, zoning hearing board, canceled; 7 p.m. Aug. 14, board of commissioners; 7 p.m. Aug. 20, environmental advisory council; 7 p.m. Aug. 27, planning commission and 7 p.m. Aug. 28, board of commissioners, not listed on township website.