Salisbury Township is considering a new policy to not mail letters to residents and to not advertise in newspapers about upcoming agendas of the township planning commission.

“The planning commission recommended at the meeting in January that they no longer send out letters,” Attorney Jason A. Ulrich, partner, Gross McGinley LLP Attorneys At Law, solicitor for the board of commissioners and planning commission said.

“With the zoning hearing board, it’s required,” Ulrich said at the board of commissioners’ Jan. 13 meeting. “It takes time and money,” Ulrich said of sending out letters and advertising for planning commission meeting agendas.

“This [rescinding letters and advertising] was proposed [by the planning commission] to save money and time,” Ulrich said.

“One of the biggest expenses you have is newspaper advertising and mailing,” Ulrich said.

The cost of the advertising and mailing was not stated at the commissioners’ meeting.

The topic arose during “Discussion - Regarding Procedural Notification for Planning Commission matters” on the Jan. 13 meeting agenda.

A vote to rescind sending out letters and advertising is expected to be on the agenda of the next township commissioners’ meeting, 7 p.m. Feb. 27 in the meeting room of the municipal building, 2900 S. Pike Ave.

Ulrich said he and his law firm do work for 10 to 18 municipalities. “None that I work in do it [send out letters and advertise planning commission agendas],” Ulrich said.

“None of mine do it,” Charles L. Meyers, operations manager, Barry Isett & Associates Inc., consulting engineering firm for Salisbury Township, said referring to municipalities for which he and his firm consults.

“You advertise [township meetings] at the beginning of the year,” Ulrich said, adding, “And it’s [planning commission meeting agendas] on the [township] website.”

Planning commission meeting agendas are typically posted on the township website at least two days before a meeting. The agenda for the 7 p.m. Feb. 26 planning commission meeting is already on the township website.

“The flip side of that is if someone didn’t get a letter, they could go to court,” Salisbury Township Assistant Township Manager Sandy Nicolo said.

“You don’t need to give them [township resident] the appearance of legal standing,” Ulrich said.

Legal standing, or locus standi, is the capacity of a party to bring a lawsuit in court, according to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute website. A plaintiff must have suffered an “injury in fact” and “there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct brought before the court,” according to the Cornell website.

“This standing, at least I think, can be misconstrued both ways,” township Commissioner Alok Patnaik said.

“It could, but that’s why we are drawing attention to it,” township Commissioner Alex Karol said.

Commissioners talked about voting on the planning commission recommendation at the Feb. 13 meeting.

“It’s a Sunshine [Law] item. It’s on the agenda. You can vote on it or you can put it on the agenda,” Ulrich said.

Board of commissioners President Debra Brinton and Karol cited what they said was the “bad timing” of the planning commission recommendation.

Brinton and Karol were referring to the recommendation by the planning commission at its Jan. 22 meeting when the Vistas at South Mountain Holdings LLC 88-unit town house development was reviewed by planners, who tabled the project. The town house project is not listed on the agenda of the next planning commission meeting, 7 p.m. Feb. 26.

“I think this just came up at the beginning of the year [for the planning commission],” Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich said.

“That’s exactly what happened,” Nicolo said.

“Everything is going digital,” Patnaik said, adding, “We should alert them [township residents] that it doesn’t stop tonight. I think we should make some sort of announcement.”

“We can table this for one month,” township commissioner Heather Lipkin said.

Bonaskiewich said there will not be a board of commissioners’ meeting March 13 when interviews for a new township manager are scheduled. Bonaskiewich is to retire May 2. She plans to work side by side with the new township manager in April. As of the Feb. 13 commissioners’ meeting, there were 33 applicants for township manager. A township meeting is planned for March 27.

“Let’s do it in two weeks,” Lipkin said of a vote on the planners’ recommendation.

“I don’t disagree with you on the timetable,” Ulrich said.

In his report to commissioners at the Feb. 13 meeting, Salisbury Township Police Chief Don Sabo said he is awaiting a report from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials concerning improved safety for Salisbury High School students at the South Dauphin Street and East Emmaus Avenue intersection and for Salisbury Elementary School students at Gaskill Avenue and East Emmaus Avenue.

After Sabo receives the report, he said he would present it to township commissioners. The Gaskill Avenue and Emmaus Avenue intersection study is pertinent to the Vistas at South Mountain town house development.

“We’ll come back with possible options for the intersections,” Sabo said.

Two more township police officers completed crisis intervention training and four more police officers are to take the training. “We should be done by year’s end,” Sabo said.

In his report to commissioners, Salisbury Township Director, Public Works Department, Jim Levernier, said the township rock salt supply is running low: “We have a bit of an issue getting salt. We have enough for next week [the week of Feb. 16]. However, we may get another storm.

“We may have to change our policy. We may have to salt hills and intersections, but not flat areas,” Levernier said.

“It’s a statewide problem,” Levernier said.

American Rock Salt, Livingston County, N.Y., stated Feb. 3 on its website: “This historic demand is due to the long stretch of cold weather events impacting the region where the constantly low temperatures require salting roads for even very small snowfall events.

“This trend is consistent throughout the Northeast and across the nation as even parts of Florida have experienced snowfall this winter. We are operating under the assumption that this strong demand will continue throughout the remainder of the 2025 winter season,” according to American Rock Salt.

“It is our understanding that this historic demand is impacting the supply from all salt mining companies, foreign and domestic,” American Rock Salt stated.

Salisbury commissioners lauded Levernier and the township public works department for the handling of the Feb. 12 snow and ice storm.

“You got the ice off. I think you guys did a great job,” Brinton said.

“I come down Savercool. I had no issues,” Lipkin said.

In his comments to commissioners, Patnaik said there are now two bills in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Harrisburg, for municipal use of radar speed detectors. Only state police officers can use radar on highways.

Under consideration is the use of hand-held radio by full-time municipal police officers of accredited departments and in municipalities with a population of 500,000 or more.

“You’re already 22 votes short,” Ulrich said.

“It’s not going to pass,” Sabo said.

“The last time we did a speed check on South Pike, our equipment got hit three times,” Sabo said.

At the Feb. 13 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously 5-0 to approve:

-A resolution for an independent intermunicipal cooperative agreement with South Whitehall Township to purchase shared public works equipment in the amount of $144,500. Lipkin made the motion, seconded by board of commissioners Vice President Rodney Conn.

-A resolution amending the tax collector fee for providing certification of payment or nonpayment of township real estate taxes at $30 for each certification, a fee of $10 for each duplicate bill or information in lieu of bill provided and a fee of $25 for returned checks. Conn made the motion, seconded by Karol.

-A motion authorizing a Memorandum of Understanding between the township and the Salisbury Township School District. Lipkin made the motion seconded by Patnaik. “This is the same one from before. Our solicitor reviewed it. We didn’t change it last year. This is the 21st year that we’ve been doing this,” Sabo said before the vote.”

An executive session concerning legal and personnel matters followed the meeting.

The February Salisbury Township municipal meeting schedule is: 7 p.m. Feb. 19, environmental advisory council; 7 p.m. Feb. 26, planning commission and 7 p.m. Feb. 27, board of commissioners.