Hereford Township Moves to Drop PennDOT Snow Plowing Deal

Hereford Township's supervisors moved on Sept. 15 to end the township's winter-maintenance agreement with PennDOT, the arrangement under which township crews plow and salt state roads for an annual payment from the state, according to the minutes of the Sept. 15 meeting. The reason, laid out at the board's Sept. 1 meeting, is money: the road crew reported a deficit of more than $40,000 over the past three winter seasons.

Supervisor John Membrino, who called the meeting to order, made a motion to authorize the township solicitor to notify PennDOT in writing that the township does not accept the automatic renewal of the winter-maintenance contract, does not intend to sign or approve the new contract it received, and considers the existing agreement terminated. The minutes do not record a second or a vote on that motion. Every other motion that night is recorded with a second and a unanimous vote. So the minutes show the board moving to end the deal, but they do not show it formally approved, and they do not say whether the letter to PennDOT has gone out.

Membrino said township trucks "will still assist Penn Dot roads in need," according to the minutes, because he does not want the fire department or EMS stuck on roads in the township. The minutes do not name the state roads covered by the agreement or say when any change would take effect.

Three supervisors were present: Membrino, Albert Ciccarone and Karla Dexter, along with Secretary Hannah Edwards. The posted Sept. 15 minutes were still awaiting the board's approval, which was on the Oct. 6 agenda; minutes of the Oct. 6 meeting are not posted.

Timing may matter. A PennDOT newsletter for local governments from 2015 says the state pays municipalities an upfront annual lump sum under these agreements to clear state roads from Oct. 15 to April 30, and that a municipality that does not want its standard agreement to renew must notify PennDOT by July 31. Whether that deadline applies to Hereford's current agreement is not in the minutes. Membrino asked the solicitor on Sept. 1 to check the existing contract for any required notice period, and the minutes do not record an answer.

Why the township wants out

The road crew made the case on Sept. 1. Chris Day, who reported for the road crew, said the final-year payment under the current 2025-26 agreement is more than the first-year payment PennDOT is offering for 2026-27, and that the new deal is being offered as a 10-year contract instead of the 5-year term the township is used to. The minutes record that Day did not think the contract was cost effective and put the deficit at more than $40,000 over the past three winter seasons.

Membrino asked whether any of the state roads were not a burden. Day said they are all bad and need constant attention, and that it would be best to give 100 percent of the roads back to the state so it would have to see and fix the problem areas. Membrino asked the solicitor to review the existing contract for any required notice period before the township declines to re-sign.

On Sept. 15, during the Kahler Road item just before the winter-maintenance motion, Ciccarone said the goal is to keep expenses and taxes down, that road maintenance is the biggest expense, and that the money the township receives from the state "isn't touching our expenses" for salt, man-hours, diesel and safety. The minutes then record a question from a Mr. Johnson: "if diesel is a concern, why are we not conserving the diesel and speed vs the expectation of payout vs level of completion." No answer is recorded.

Kahler Road is no longer a public road

The board adopted Ordinance 2026-01, which vacates Kahler Road, ending its status as a public road. Membrino made the motion, Dexter seconded, and all were in favor. A public hearing on the ordinance was held Sept. 1, with a stenographer provided by Solicitor Eugene Orlando Jr., but the solicitor noted there was no agenda line item to consider adoption that night, so the decision was tabled to Sept. 15.

First look at the 2027 budget

Sept. 15 was the board's first budget meeting for 2027. Edwards reported:

• Fire radios: a $300,000 radio budget over 7 years, a combined price for both fire companies. Earlier in the meeting, Seisholtzville Fire Company's representative said a radio quote had been provided but was missing required items such as batteries and antennas, and that she hoped to email a corrected quote to the board later that week.
• Bally Ambulance: the township's donation is $15,000 for 2026, and the quoted donation for 2027 is $20,000. Bally Ambulance reported 19 EMS calls in the township in August and 166 for the year.
• 2027 paving: Shiffert Road will be paved; Grouse Hill will get base repair and a double chip seal.
• Salaries were emailed to the board and placed in the correct line items, and Edwards and Day are still working on what the minutes call the SLF budget. Edwards wants to review engineering fees with the township engineer because Camp Mensch Mill project costs need to be reallocated against grant fees.
• Edwards' goal is to have the budget handbook ready for the board to review and approve for advertising at the Nov. 3 meeting.

Hereford Fire Company asked the board to consider waiving a $399 permit fee charged through Technicon, the township engineer's firm, for an air-conditioning replacement. Membrino said the request would go on the next agenda. The company also turned in its 2025 audit report. State police reported 56 calls in the township for August.

Other business from Sept. 1

• The board approved Change Order #1 for the Camp Mensch Mill streambank stabilization project, adding $6,000 to remove six more trees. The contractor has already removed trees and placed rock protection at the downstream end of the project, the engineer reported.
• The board adopted Resolution 2026-15, authorizing the engineer to apply for a Berks County Local Share Account grant, a state program that distributes casino gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, to convert the tennis court at the township park to pickleball courts. That is an application, not an award. A separate statewide LSA application for a backhoe, still pending on Sept. 1, is listed as awarded on the board's Oct. 6 agenda, which also lists authorization for Day to order a backhoe and mower.
• Rick Rachor of Stonewood Landscaping pitched buying a 5-acre lot for sale on Chestnut Street and placing an air-curtain burner there to burn logs, stumps and trees, leaving biochar that can be used in topsoil. The engineer said the use is permitted in the Industrial zoning district; Membrino said it would be allowed there by right without a zoning hearing. The lot itself is in the mixed-use district, where a variance would be needed, and Membrino warned there could be a lot of pushback on a variance request there because the area is used as residential. No action was taken.
• The board approved a $15,000 township share of a 2018 Bomag roller to be bought jointly with other municipalities through the work-crew co-op, at an estimated total cost of $55,000. It also approved selling the township's Kelly Creswell line painter on Municibid through the co-op's joint equipment sale.
• The board approved the 2027 meeting dates and their advertisement in the Town and Country, and approved the 2026 fall newsletter at $1,288.51 including mailing.
• The engineer drafted a letter asking PennDOT to study truck-traffic concerns around the S-turn on Huffs Church Road, and Edwards sent it to PennDOT and the township's state representative and senator. The Oct. 6 agenda lists a PennDOT response. The township's Act 537 sewage plan working group meets next on Sept. 29, and the solicitor is reviewing a proposed intermunicipal agreement with the Red Hill Water Authority; the minutes do not say what it covers.

What happens next

The board's next meeting after Sept. 15 was Oct. 6; its minutes were not posted when this story was written. The Oct. 20 meeting is canceled, with its items moved to the Nov. 3 meeting, where Edwards aims to have the 2027 budget ready for approval to advertise. The Oct. 6 agenda carried no winter-maintenance item, so whether the township sent PennDOT its letter, and whether the July 31 deadline applies, may not surface until the Nov. 3 meeting.

The supervisors meet in person at the municipal building and by Zoom, according to the minutes; the township office can be reached at 610-845-2929. Our guide explains how to find any Berks municipality's meeting schedule, and how Berks County government works covers which services the county handles and which your township handles. To report a pothole or plowing problem on a state road, see how to report a road problem in Berks County. For county-level meetings, see how to watch the Berks County commissioners' meetings.