Slippery Rock Township may start using more ashes to de-ice roads after it receives about 1,500 tons from Lancaster Township.

The board of supervisors approved a deal on Monday to exchange the ashes for one load of salt, in addition to the cost of trucking the ashes from Lancaster Township to Slippery Rock Township. Board chairman Paul Dickey said the trucking estimate the township received from McClymonds Supply & Transit was about $10,000.

Dickey said paying for those ashes outright would cost about $24,000.

Lancaster Township wanted to exchange the ashes because it had amassed so much that it did not have enough room to store salt for winter conditions, and using the large amount of ash increased the amount of spring maintenance needed on roads and in ditches, according to Township Manager Mary Hess.

“We will still use a small amount of ash, but our plan is to switch to primarily salt,” she said.

While local governments and transportation officials have traditionally used salt to de-ice roads for its lower freezing point than water, shortages, strained budgets and environmental effects have encouraged experts to look for alternatives.

Slippery Rock Township has used a combination of ashes and salt for many years because the ashes are cheaper and cause less damage over time, Dickey said. Ashes are normally used on more rural roads while salt is reserved for hills and intersections.

“It’s just what we feel is best practice,” Dickey said.

According to The Guardian and Forestry.com, ash has been used to melt snow and ice since before commercial salts and chemical de-icing solutions were commonplace. Instead of having a lower freezing point like salt, the ashes’ dark color attracts sunlight and heat to melt ice while providing traction. It is also more environmentally friendly and acts as fertilizer when it blows into nearby soil.

Slippery Rock Township is also gathering estimates to turn an old coal building off Cemetery Road into a storage building. The township built another salt dome last year and no longer has a use for this building.

“We need more storage space, so we did that so we can convert this (building),” Dickey said. “This is a coal building we use now, and it’s more conducive to a shed than it would be for the ash storage.”

The township got an estimate from Unique Construction that the project would cost about $40,000, so the supervisors are getting their own estimates for materials and think they can do it cheaper with their own crew.

The supervisors approved the purchase of a John Deere tractor for just over $61,000 and a flail mower attachment for about $33,000 from LandPro Equipment in East Palestine.

Slippery Rock Township and Slippery Rock Borough have entered into a zoning services agreement to share a zoning officer on an as-needed basis because the township’s primary zoning officer is retiring. The township will reimburse the borough for his hours and mileage per the agreement.