Upper Milford supervisors at their April 21 meeting directed Township Manager Daniel DeLong to respond to a resident’s concerns about the use of herbicides and pesticides to control vegetation.

Supervisors were reacting to a letter, which they praised as well-written and thoughtful, from Donna Widdowson of Sell Road.

In her April 7 letter, Widdowson expressed concern about the environmental impact and health effects of the chemicals the township sprays along roads, on private property and near streams and creeks.

“I am afraid that the herbicides are hazardous and deadly to the plant, amphibian and aquatic life in our streams,” she said.

“While my fears about the environmental impact and health effects of the herbicides run deep, what I am most afraid of is that the officials charged with running the township….may not be taking the grave threats these toxic chemicals pose seriously.”

Supervisors said some of the spraying along roads is done by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. DeLong said the township does spray areas along roads which can’t be reached by mowing. It also does some spraying in parks, on an as needed basis, and closes the parks while the spraying is being done. He said township employees are trained in the use of the chemicals.

DeLong noted the township purchases a total of just five gallons of Roundup pesticide in a season.

Supervisors chairman George DeVault said Widdowson’s letter raises some important issues and asked, “Is this stuff really as safe as they say it is?”

He also asked if the township has looked into any organic alternatives to the chemicals, prompting one supervisor to joke, “Goats?”

DeLong will review Widdowson’s letter and respond to her specific concerns.

In other action at last week’s meeting, supervisors appointed Robert Sentner and Susan Smith as alternates to the planning commission. They had been regular members of the commission, but the size of the board has been reduced from nine to seven members, effective May 1.

They also appointed Dale Dries to the pension board, to fill a vacancy.

DeLong reported progress is being made on a final approval agreement for the Fields at Indian Creek, the 55 and older community proposed on the site of the former Indian Creek Golf Course. Approval of the project is complicated partly because it lies in three municipalities, Upper Milford, Emmaus and Lower Macungie.

In other business, Supervisor Robert Sentner said he would like the board to look into ways of increasing the township’s funding of the two fire departments. He noted both departments bought new engines in the past two years for a total cost of $850,000, much more than the township contributes to them. He said he has a proposal to increase the township’s contribution, but he’s not sure yet how much it would cost.

“But it would be cheaper than having a paid fire department,” he said.