Lebanon mayor urges preparation as city readies for heavy snow; meeting postponed

The chair announced the council would postpone the next meeting to Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. because of an expected snowstorm. Mayor Sherry Alcopello urged residents to prepare and described municipal steps to respond to heavy snow.

Alcopello said she expected a significant storm and warned residents to stock supplies and stay off roads if possible, because municipal crews and plow drivers will be working long hours. "Most likely we're gonna be calling a snow emergency," she said, and added that the city will post routes and announcements on social media and radio in both English and Spanish.

The mayor said municipal parking lots will be free for people who must move vehicles off snow emergency routes, that the police will announce the start of the snow emergency twice before ticketing begins and that vehicles left after the second warning will face tickets and possible towing at the owner's expense. She also said warming shelters remain open under an extended code blue and encouraged residents to check on elderly neighbors and coordinate with church volunteer groups for shoveling assistance.

The mayor said she planned to announce the snow emergency start time the following day after watching forecast changes and balancing business needs with enforcement logistics. She asked residents to clear fire hydrants and sidewalks as appropriate and said the city may extend the time allowed to clear sidewalks depending on storm severity.

The meeting included a brief presentation about the Pennsylvania Municipal League civic engagement scholarship (awards: $2,000 first place; $1,000 second place; $500 third place) and outreach to school counselors to solicit student applicants.

Next steps: mayor/staff will post snow‑emergency routes and timing publicly and announce when ticketing/towing will commence; meeting postponed to Jan. 29.