By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
The borough “dodged a bullet” when a weather advisory throughout New Jersey ended in only about an inch of snow falling Tuesday, and prevented the need for plowing and salting the roads.
”We didn’t have to do anything today,” Phil Petrone, director of the Department of Public Works, said. “We didn’t have to use the salt. The temperature played a great role in that.”
The storm did cause several events to be rescheduled, including a varsity boys basketball game (which will be played Thursday) and the first of two Visioning Workshops to discuss future borough goals. The workshop was scheduled for Tuesday evening, but has been rescheduled for Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. The meeting was canceled to prevent those representatives traveling from Trenton to work with the borough’s Plan Endorsement Committee from having to make the drive in the inclement weather.
Mr. Petrone said, with the temperature hovering in the low 30s throughout Tuesday, the snow did not stick on the roadways, and the borough was able to avoid having to pay workers overtime to plow the streets.
”We saved approximately $3,000,” he said. “There was no salting necessary and no overtime, which usually contribute to the costs.”
During storms, Mr. Petrone said, the borough begins to salt the ground when between 2 and 4 inches of snow is anticipated. The borough begins to plow, he said, once the snow reaches 3 inches.
”Two or 3 inches on the ground is a nuisance because it’s not enough on the ground to plow, but enough to have the salt,” he said.
According to Mr. Petrone, there are a few different options when taking care of snow-covered roads, which vary in cost and effectiveness. During the snowstorm Jan. 18, he said, the borough used about 110 tons of salt to cover the roads in Manville and keep them from being too slippery.
”In the subzero temperatures then, a lot of snow froze and we had to use a fair amount of salt,” he said.
In the storm of Jan. 28, however, Mr. Petrone said, the borough first spread brine, a mixture of salt and water, on the roads. He said this can be put on the roads about two days in advance of a storm, and it will provide a barrier on the roads when the snow begins to fall.
”We get a four-hour window,” he said. “It gives us time so we don’t have to send the truck right away.”
With that window of time, Mr. Petrone said, the borough only had to use 36 tons of salt during the storm.
Although using the brine does save the borough some money, Mr. Petrone said, it is not used often because Manville does not have the equipment to mix the substance.
”We have to outsource for that,” he said. “The budget is tight so we can’t afford the equipment to mix the materials.”
Mr. Petrone said the actions of the borough depend on what kind of storm it is and when it happens. If the snow falls early in the morning or on the weekend, he said, workers have to be called in to take care of the salting on overtime hours.
No matter what, Mr. Petrone said, the Department of Public Works asks that residents remove their vehicles from the roads when streets are snow-covered to make way for the plows.
”(Removal of vehicles) from emergency snow streets during snow will be strictly enforced,” he said.
Despite the roads remaining fairly clear throughout the day, the school district itself shut down early, with all after-school activities being canceled, and a previously scheduled special education meeting being postponed.

