Road woes have long plagued East Penn Township, with the monthly board of supervisors meetings averaging at least one resident's road concerns during public comment.

Monday night wasn't any different as Susan Frey, David Bryfogle and Nancy and Charles Hoppel took the opportunity to draw attention to roadways in need of repair.Bryfogle told the board Church Hill Road needs work. "The first time the snowplow hits the edge of the road it's going to throw a lot of blacktop in my driveway," Bryfogle said.Supervisor Steve Heckman agreed with Bryfogle, saying," I can say it is bad. It's not as bad as some of the other roads, but it's on our list. We are renting a cold patcher to do some touch-up work. It's a road we can save."Heckman added, "The traffic is wearing it out. And the asphalt plant hasn't been kind to us."According to Heckman, several trucks have broken down during the repair season, putting the work behind schedule.Board Supervisor Chairman William Schwab told Bryfogle that Church Hill Road is a candidate for tar and chip and could possibly be on the springtime list.Frey asked the board about the intersection of Friendship Road and Lilac Lane, saying the last year's board made unanimous decision it would be fixed."Now I'm told it's not going to be fixed," she said."We weren't on the board last year," said Schwab."The issue is Lilac Lane, not Friendship," he said, adding that Frey should look over a copy of the engineer's road report."This is right where it meets," she said. "Is Friendship Road being repaired?""No, it's not," Heckman said."We have to go with the engineer. If he says it's not our responsibility, it's not," Schwab said.Heckman told Frey he would speak with township engineer Michael Muffley and arrange a meeting with her personally.The Hoppels stood in front of the board and once again spoke of Bake Oven Road."I sent an email about it and no one responded," Nancy Hoppel said."We've had four women who were stranded after midnight on that road. One car had holes punched in the oil pan and her car finally died at Nothstein and Hoffman roads. Another car had the exhaust system ripped off," she said.Heckman said the board would investigate and address the issue."We drove it, and there is plenty of material on both sides. We have the equipment but asphalt takes precedent because of the timeline but it's on the list," he said.According to Heckman, a firetruck responding to a search-and-rescue call had to drive the mountain road and sustained exhaust system damage."I wouldn't drive up there," he said. "As soon as the asphalt plant closes we'll move onto the dirt road projects."Heckman presented residents and the board with a list of recent road work that had taken place in the township. Line striping was completed on Troxell, Summer Mountain and Riverview roads along with Smith Lane. Potholes on Evergreen Road were filled in while Summer Mountain, Pinewood and Sunridge roads received shoulder repairs.Upcoming projects listed by Heckman included Sports Club, Blue Mountain and Stone Mountain roads, Bake Oven and Hoffman roads were listed along with drainage repair for Summer Mountain Road.A new roadmaster was appointed by the board during the meeting.Ronald Reeser will be hired at a rate of $25 an hour, with 40 hours of vacation time. Reeser is subject to a six-month probation, after which he will receive an additional 20 hours of vacation time."We need to establish a chain of command for dealing with the roadmaster," Heckman said.Heckman and Schwab agreed to take on the responsibility of being the two links in the chain."If we could get another 7 miles fixed next year that would be great," Schwab said.