A letter sent to Center Township registered Democrats has stirred the pot days before the primary elections.

Democratic candidate Tom Schiebel sent a letter that touched on his stances on the governance of the township.

At least one Center Township Democrat did not receive the letter, Schiebel's opponent in the primary, Phil Heasley.

In the letter, Schiebel claimed Heasley told him the role would be “a stepping stone” toward higher political aims.

In an interview Sunday, Schiebel has since apologized to Heasley for that comment.

“I apologized to him yesterday,” he said. “The letter's out there, the letter's done. I don't ever want to belittle, smudge or disrespect Phil Heasley.”

Heasley said he remembers having a conversation with Schiebel, during which he told him that his reasons for running for township supervisor were the same as those he has had in his two races for a seat as a state representative.

He said he wants to establish further transparency and connections between the citizens and their government leaders.

“I'm running on my own merit,” Heasley said. “I'm just here to serve my community.”

He said despite the recent slight, he plans to focus his campaign on the township's future and potential, which could expand through public spaces.

“I think there's a lot of potential for community resources here,” Heasley said. “We're getting a lot of money from Marcellus shale and that needs to be reinvested in our community.”

The rest of Schiebel's letter took aim at the township's current leadership, the board of supervisors. He said the board fired its road master and has not kept up with road work projects, nor do they plan ahead for future projects.

“There's a lot more cracking in the roads, there's a lot more pot holes in the roads, and the snow response wasn't as good as it typically is,” he said. “I think there's things falling through the cracks.”

Chairman Ron Flatt said it is true the township no longer has a road master, but it does have a road foreman. Flatt said the township's road department has too few employees to justify the cost of a road master. He said having a road foreman still keeps someone in charge, and it has the added benefit of having someone on-site making the decisions.

“We think that works pretty well,” Flatt said.

Flatt said the board also plans for road projects about three years in advance, but most of it is fluid and able to be shifted when needed.

Leadership for the crews aside, Schiebel said there are still problems concerning safety that should be addressed. He said there has been shifts in the safety policies concerning township employees, and during public meetings it has been admitted that those safety practices do not meet OSHA standards.

“Why would you not want to adhere to the national safety policies of the United States,” Schiebel said.

Supervisor Phil Wulff said the original policy was a template designed for a fire department, and it was recently adapted to be more in-line with road crews. He said even though he's not sure if it aligns completely with OSHA standards, the policy does have backing from other standards.

Lastly, in his letter Schiebel claimed the township ran out of salt mid-winter and had to purchase a replenishment at an upcharged rate. On Sunday, Schiebel said he did not have any proof of these claims and no documentation or figures to support it.

“Did they buy some just to buy some? It doesn't make sense to me that the township would buy more salt if they had some on hand,” he said.

Wulff said the township did not run out of salt. He said the township did buy salt in the winter, but it was not at a rate higher than usual.

“Any salt that we bought through the winter was under the contract price,” he said.

More than 10 years ago, the township built a new storage building that could hold 5,000 tons of stockpiled salt, a major upgrade from the 300 ton storage unit before it. Flatt said both he and Schiebel were on the board at that time.

“That thing is just about full all the time,” Flatt said.

Flatt further elaborated on the salt contract, which requires the township to submit estimates for how much they would like to buy for the year. He said the township is then required to buy a minimum of 60% of that amount, even in the mildest of winters.

He said the purchase price is guaranteed by the contract and is not impacted by the time of the year.

“It's the same price,” he said. “When we sign that contract we're committed to paying that amount.”

Comments about Heasley aside, Schiebel said he stands by the letter and his comments. He said there are some things about the way the township has been run that are not adding up.

“I told them about things that I thought were wrong with the township,” Schiebel said.