Quality of life issues were brought to the attention of the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners, including on-street parking of commercial vehicles, rental-property nuisance tenants and a firefighter’s concerns about a fatal fire in the township.

Discussion of a proposed disruptive noise ordinance was the topic of discussion for the Feb. 10 commissioners’ meeting workshop.

“About a year ago, we started to address this,” Salisbury Township Assistant Manager Sandy Nicolo said.

“Once a complaint is made, it will go to code enforcement and keep a record of it with the landlords,” Nicolo said.

“It turns out that we have a lot of problems when there’s not a lot we can do,” Salisbury Township Chief of Police Kevin Soberick said.

“It will be something that the police department can look into and work with Sandy [Nicolo] on a quality-of-life issue,” Soberick said.

Soberick and Nicolo plan to draft an ordinance for consideration by commissioners that could help township code enforcement and police curtail alleged disruptive conduct by tenants in rental units and apartments in the township.

Nicolo indicated an ordinance or amendment to an ordinance could hold landlords responsible for the conduct of their tenants.

Soberick said township police officers can be called multiple times to respond to the same disruptive tenant or tenants. He said such behavior is unfair to other tenants who reside in the same building.

“If this is something that will help our police, I’m in favorite of it,” township board of commissioners President Debra Brinton said of the possible changes.

Soberick and Nicolo will continue to hone the proposed ordinance, which may be discussed again by commissioners before being considered for a vote for adoption.

Also under consideration by township commissioners is an update of an ordinance to regulate the parking on streets of commercial vehicles driven to and from work by township residents.

Such vehicles could include those driven by employees of cable TV companies, telephone companies, utility companies and the like. Typically, the vehicles are box trucks or vans and not Commercial Drivers License trucks such as semi-tractor trailers.

During the public comment portion of the Feb. 10 township meeting, commissioners heard from a township resident who said an ordinance restricting commercial vehicle on-street parking could affect his livelihood.

“We take our vehicles home,” Jared Tierno, a first-responder for a utility company and Lieutenant 31-07 and director on the board of Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company said.

“Sometimes, it’s a CDL vehicle,” Tierno said of the work vehicle he drives home.

“[Township] public works employees take vehicles home,” Tierno said.

“I would not be able to be an emergency-responder,” Tierno added.

Said Nicolo to commissioners regarding Tierno’s statements, “Right now, everything he said is not permitted.

“That’s the reason we’re trying to come up with a new ordinance to balance it,” Nicolo said.

“It will affect me personally,” Tierno said, noting he is on call 24/7.

“It’s pretty-much complaint-based,” Nicolo said of township regulation of on-street parking of commercial vehicles.

“Right now we’re trying to consider trucks for emergency vehicles, but that it doesn’t affect the neighborhood,” Nicolo said.

Also during the Feb. 10 meeting public comment portion, Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company Fire Chief Joshua Wells said, “Last year was the busiest year for both fire companies.

“It’s been very busy since November [2021],” Wells said.

“It’s been a while since we had a fatal fire,” Wells said, referring to the Feb. 1 Byfield Street house fire in which Daniel Knotts and his dog perished.

Wells said previous fire fatalities were in March 2007 and April 1985.

“We’ve had four fires since November, which is not common,” Wells said.

“It’s very taxing on all of us,” Wells said.

Trauma counseling was provided Feb. 9 for township firefighters.

The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners is next scheduled to meet 7 p.m. Feb. 24 in the meeting room of the municipal building.