Manheim Township Public Works Asks For Patience When It Snows

When Philip Mellott, director of public works for Manheim Township, was asked what area residents need to know about how the 165 miles of local roads are cleared when it snows, he was quick to point out the priorities the department adheres to during a storm. "Our first mission is to plow the main roads that people travel," said Mellott. "Once those are plowed, we go into the subdivisions, but we only plow the center of the road."

Mellott explained that this first pass through a neighborhood is designed to make the roads accessible to first responders - police, fire departments, and ambulances. Once the roads are cleared for emergency vehicles, the plows will return to finish the job.

To allow the system to work, Mellott encouraged residents to be patient about cleaning ends of driveways and sidewalks, which homeowners are required to clean. "Our end product is to get the snow back to the edge of the road," he said. "Just because we don't do it all in one pass doesn't mean we aren't coming back and taking care of it."

Department of Public Works engineer William Sauers noted that crew members take precautions before heading out to plow. "There's a preparation process when a (snow) event is about to occur that the crew goes through to get the truck set up. There are safety checks," he said.

John DeSanctis, head crew leader, oversees the plowing crews, which work with several trucks, ranging from pickups to a dual axle dump truck. He elaborated on Sauers' comments, noting, "There is a whole checklist, and we always try to be ahead of the game. Each driver is required to do a pre-trip inspection to make sure everything is up and running and ideally catch any defects."

According to Mellott, decisions regarding road safety begin with the members of the Manheim Township police force. If an officer feels roads are unsafe, he or she contacts the on-call crew leader who then calls other crew leaders to contact employees. DeSanctis noted that plowing will begin as soon as the roads turn white, and Mellott added that waiting is important with regard to putting down salt. "We wait for it to accumulate a bit because when you drop the salt, you want it to stick to the center of the road so it drains both ways to the edges," he explained.

Should several inches of snow accumulate, crew members will remain at the public works building to keep the roads cleared for the duration. Roads that are not plowed by the department include state Routes 30, 501, and 272.

Manheim Township has a policy regarding mailboxes that are damaged during a storm. "If we strike a mailbox physically with our plow, we will fix it," explained Mellott, who added that repairing mailboxes that fall over due to snowfall is the responsibility of the owner.

More information about the department may be found at https://manheimtownship.org/180/Public-Works.