The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 at the June 14 meeting on a motion made by Commissioner Rodney Conn and seconded by Commissioner James Seagreaves to amend the township schedule of fees to include utility certification fees.

The board of commissioners also voted on several other matters at the June 28 township meeting, prior to which a public hearing on the Pollutant Reduction Plan was held.

Public comment is still open on the PRP, expected to be on the agenda for a vote by commissioners 7 p.m. July 26, the only Salisbury Township meeting this month.

Commissioners at the June 28 meeting, on recommendation of Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich, agreed to cancel the July 12 meeting for a lack of agenda items. Commissioners usually meet twice-monthly on the second and fourth Thursdays in the meeting room of the township municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.

The ordinance for the fees schedule establishes an administrative fee for preparing utility billing certifications.

“Now there’s one fee for all charges,” Bonaskiewich explained prior to the commissioners’ vote on the ordinance at the June 14 meeting.

The utility certification fee for water, sewer, trash, municipal liens or other assessments that may have been filed against a property is $20 per property for the initial request.

The utility certification final fee is $10 per property.

The fees went into effect June 14.

In other business at the June 14 meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to:

•Accept a May 14 bid of $318,789,29 from Insituform Technologies, LLC, Olyphant, Lackawanna County, for the 2018 Sanitary Sewer System Rehabilitation Mainline Cured-In-Place Pipe-Lining Project. Seagreaves moved, seconded by Conn, to bring the motion to a vote.

•Approve Change Order No. 1 for the Lindberg Park Improvement Project Phase 4 for contracted work by Kobalt Construction, Inc. for a reduction of $4,320. The splash pad that was to be constructed won’t be included in the project.

The splash pad, estimated to cost $130,000, was to be purchased outside of the bid work. The cost reduction was for site-preparation work. “As we began to be looking at it and decided how we were going to manage it. we decided not to put it in,” Bonaskiewich said prior to the commissioners’ vote.

Concerns by Salisbury Township Director of Public Works John Andreas, Salisbury Township Recreation Director Genny Baillie and Salisbury Township Chief of Police Allen W. Stiles had to do with possible vandalism to the splash pad.

Commissioner Joanne Ackerman moved, seconded by Conn, to bring the motion to a vote. After the meeting, Bonaskiewich told a reporter for The Press the sprinkler system now in use in Lindberg Park will be improved.

•Approve Payment No. 6 of $3,860.80 to In Line Services, LLC, for the 2017 water meter replacement project. “The project is substantially complete,” Bonaskiewich said prior to the commissioners’ vote. “The work is essentially complete. It’s a good job all around,” Andreas said.

When asked by Seagreaves if the upgrade has helped the department’s employees, Andreas said, “It’s night and day.” Ackerman asked, “Have you noticed a difference?” Andreas said, “It’s excellent.” Andreas said it now takes two days, compared to the previous two weeks, to read the system.

The meter-reading is a two-person operation, Andreas said, with one department employee driving a vehicle and a second employee doing the meter reading. Ackerman moved, seconded by Commissioners’ Vice President Debra Brinton, to bring the motion to a vote.

•Authorize Bonaskiewich to write a letter of consent for Wildlands Conservancy to purchase the 28-Acre Kistler tract at the base of South Mountain in Salisbury Township. “They are seeking grant funding. They must get a letter of consent,” Bonaskiewich said of the conservancy prior to the commissioners’ vote.

A Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development grant is being sought. Attending the meeting was Dawn Gorham, Wildlands Conservancy’s director of land preservation. Ackerman moved, seconded by Brinton, to bring the motion to a vote.

During the commissioners’ comment portion of the meeting Commissioners’ President Robert Martucci Jr. said a Lehigh Avenue resident contacted him about water drainage problems. Andreas said the property owner needed to clean out a drainage ditch.

Martucci asked about the results of the hydrology study at Laubach Park. Bonaskiewich said the report will be discussed at an upcoming township commissioners’ meeting workshop.

Martucci said a Kern Street resident contacted him about the condition of the street. Andreas said he would follow up.

There was no workshop after the June 14 meeting. Commissioners held an executive session to discuss legal and personnel matters, Martucci announced.

At the June 28 township meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to:

•Approve the disposition of a 1990 Chevrolet step van. According to the resolution approved, the vehicle is to be sold on Muncibid, an online auction website for government agencies, schools, authorities and utilities to sell their surplus and forfeitures directly to the public (Auctions take place online and are available to bid 24 hours a day.); as a trade-in through Costars, Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program administered by the Department of General Services Bureau of Procurement. Program or by sale by public bid or auction.

“We normally have been trading them in,” Bonaskiewich said about used township vehicles. Ackerman moved, seconded by Brinton, to bring the motion to a vote.

•Approve a resolution for the retirement benefits for Ronald Rindock and a resolution to recognize his 26 years of township employment. “He will get a framed copy of the resolution,” Bonaskiewich said regarding Rindock. Ackerman moved, seconded by Brinton, to bring the motion to a vote.

During the public comment portion, a woman voiced concern about a man allegedly beating a woman in a car in the vicinity of Green Acres Park. The woman said she’s concerned about public safety at the park.

Salisbury Township Sgt. Kevin Soberick, who was attending the meeting on behalf of Stiles, said, “I am patrol supervisor and will mention it to the officers.”

“I”ve been talking about this [Green Acres Park problems] ever since I’ve been on this board,” Ackerman said.

“And you have grown men cursing and urinating,” Ackerman said. “And you have children there. The [Green Acres] park’s supposed to be for children. I think the problem is the basketball courts.”

Ackerman suggested township patrolmen get out of their vehicles and walk around Green Acres Park.

The female resident also said parking is a problem in the vicinity of Green Acres Park.

During the June 28 workshop, Bonaskiewich briefed commissioners on the appointment of an alternate open records officer.