The widow of Charles J. Durner Jr., will be allowed to stay longer in the township-owned house at Franko Farm Park.

The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners voted unanimously 5-0 to extend the Franko farmhouse lease until Nov. 30, on a motion made by Commissioner Debra Brinton and seconded by Commissioner James Seagreaves, at the Feb. 23 meeting.

Durner’s daughter, Bonnie Jurta, and son, Scott Conrad, made the request to allow their mother and Durner’s widow, Valentine, to stay in the house. The lease was to expire in July.

Durner, Salisbury Township animal control officer, recycling centers coordinator, farmhouse caretaker and retired township police chief, died Jan. 20. He was 85. He and Valentine would have observed their 20th wedding anniversary July 11.

“You can see they had a love for that property,” Brinton said.

“They had a love for each other,” Jurta said.

Conrad noted family members have been helping to maintain the property, part of Franko Park along Black River Road in eastern Salisbury.

“We’ve already been cutting the grass for the past few years,” Conrad said.

Initially, following the death of Durner, his widow would have only had several months to vacate.

“It’s been a very hard grieving process for my mother,” Jurta said.

Jurta said the house is filled with historic items and memorabilia. “I don’t want her to think that she’s being rushed,” Jurta said of her mother.

“She thinks the world of everyone here,” Jurta said of the township officials at the meeting.

Also, at the Feb. 23 meeting, during the public comment portion, Dale Stephens, a former township planning commission member, recommended the Franko Park farmhouse be restored along the lines of the historic 1803 House in Emmaus.

“That’s food for thought,” board President James A. Brown said.

The William H. Laubach Memorial Park & Franko Farm Recreation Area Master Site Development Plan recommends the Franko Park farmhouse be renovated and expanded to become a township community center, estimated to cost $50,000.

In other business at the Feb. 23 meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a police pension plan ordinance revision, which pertains to compensation not being classified as payments to a participant who waives health coverage.

Commissioners accepted without comment the township police department 2016 annual report. (See upcoming editions of The Press for coverage of the report.)

Salisbury Township Police Chief Allen W. Stiles said officer candidates from the Civil Service Board would be put forth for consideration at the 7 p.m. March 9 commissioners’ meeting.

The first “Charity Basketball Game Fundraiser,” with township police officers playing Salisbury Youth Association members, will be held March 25 in the Salisbury High School gymnasium. The program starts 1 p.m. with a basketball clinic for ages five to 11, a K-9 demonstration and “Stranger Danger” lecture. The game begins 4 p.m. Proceeds will benefit “Project Life Saver” and “National Night Out.”

Salisbury Township Department of Public Works Director John Andreas said preparations of township athletic fields is to begin.

Commissioners praised Andreas and department employees concerning snow removal during and following the Feb. 9 snowstorm.

By consensus, commissioners agreed to continue the goose management program at Laubach Park at an estimated cost of $2,000.

The next meeting for the board of commissioners will be held 7 p.m. March 9 at the Salisbury Township Municipal Building, 2900 S. Pike Ave., Allentown.