Among the \u201cwhereas\u201d typical of resolutions approved by municipal boards were words not so typical honoring Allesandro \u201cSandy\u201d Nicolo.<\/p>\n
Nicolo retired after some 20 years with Salisbury Township, including the last five years as assistant township manager-director of community development.<\/p>\n
Making the motion to bring the resolution honoring Nicolo to a vote at the Oct. 23 Salisbury Township board of commissioners\u2019 meeting was Commissioner Heather Lipkin, seconded by board of commissioners\u2019 Vice President Rodney Conn. The resolution was approved unanimously 5-0 by commissioners.<\/p>\n
The resolution expressed \u201cthe appreciation of the board of commissioners\u201d to Nicolo \u201cfor his years of service to the township and its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resolution continued, whereas, \u201cduring his tenure, his ability to communicate and interact effectively with residents\u201d afforded him the opportunity to be appointed community development director, and<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas,\u201d Nicolo served the residents and the administration \u201cwith diligence and a willingness to better the township.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cwhereas\u201d were just getting started.<\/p>\n
The resolution stated, \u201cSandy\u2019s disarming approach, clever responses and unassuming nature provided the department with a well-rounded and easily approachable spokesperson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas, Sandy\u2019s spiritual guidance, joy of comedic pranks, use of ChatGPT and his overwhelming generosity and respect for his colleagues have made his presence at Salisbury Township invaluable, memorable and irreplaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resolution stated the Salisbury board of commissioners \u201caccepts with grateful appreciation the notice of intent to retire from Sandy Nicolo for the many years of dedicated service he has rendered to the Township; and<\/p>\n
\u201cBe it further resolved that the best wishes of the members of this board and staff be extended to Sandy Nicolo for a long and happy retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salisbury commissioners and officials who lauded Nicolo at the Oct. 23 township meeting included Salisbury Township Police Lt. Christopher Casey, who recalled, \u201cI\u2019ve worked with Sandy for 18 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s continually shown good leadership qualities. He was never afraid to ask for advice. He was always great to work around.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a good dude. We\u2019re going to miss you,\u201d Casey said to Nicolo.<\/p>\n
As Salisbury code enforcement officer, Nicolo\u2019s duties included visiting properties. Residents were not always glad to see him.<\/p>\n
Casey noted during one code enforcement problem, township police were called as backup when a resident seemed to put Nicolo\u2019s safety in jeopardy. Casey said Nicolo was able to diffuse the situation.<\/p>\n
In an Oct. 26 phone interview for this article, a reporter for The Press, asked Nicolo about his approach to handling confrontational situations with residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was doing code enforcement,\u201d Nicolo recalled. \u201cIt included responding to complaints. There were times when I had to have police backup to respond to some of those code enforcement complaints.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was always my style: to bring them into compliance with reason and respect. I always tried to respect them,\u201d Nicolo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs assistant manager, I was handling a lot of the complaint calls, not necessarily code enforcement, but other complaints.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we switched trash collectors, people were calling with concerns. I was fielding a lot of those calls to help the manager out,\u201d Nicolo said.<\/p>\n
Nicolo attributed his ability to handle emotionally-charged situations to his faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s taught me to be more patient and being more restrained when things get difficult,\u201d said Nicolo, 63.<\/p>\n
Nicolo said before work at the Salisbury Township Municipal Building, he attended Daily Mass at St. Ann\u2019s Church, Emmaus. Nicolo attends Sunday Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Lehighton.<\/p>\n
Nicolo and his wife Theresa live in the Lehighton area. They have been married for 36 years. They are the parents of Daniel, 27 and Andrea, 30.<\/p>\n
Before working for Salisbury Township, Nicolo worked in the public works department and eventually in code enforcement for Lower Southampton Township, Bucks County, from 1986 to 2005.<\/p>\n
Nicolo was hired by Salisbury Township as code enforcement officer on Oct. 19, 2005. He was appointed community development director, overseeing zoning, planning and code enforcement matters. Nicolo was appointed Assistant Manager-Director of Community in January 2020.<\/p>\n
Nicolo said in the interview with The Press that his public works experience in Lower Southampton was invaluable for his roles in Salisbury Township.<\/p>\n
In Lower Southampton, Nicolo said, \u201cWe paved roads, maintained township parks, did the snowplowing, maintained the sewer system and did routine maintenance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a whole department that I had knowledge of.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2000, he was hurt on the job. \u201cI had two back surgeries.\u201d That led to a new career track that he continued on. \u201cThey [Lower Southampton] offered me a position as code enforcement officer and rental inspector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got several residential building inspector certifications,\u201d Nicolo said.<\/p>\n
Before working for Lower Southampton, he worked in HVAC for a private firm.<\/p>\n
Nicolo is a graduate of Archbishop Wood High School, Warminster, Bucks County, Class of 1980. He attended the all-boys school there. He studied HVAC at Orleans Technical College, Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
In Salisbury, as code enforcement officer, he was in charge of overseeing a third-party building inspection company, Code Master Inspection Services.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to help in all departments in matters that involved building inspections,\u201d Nicolo said.<\/p>\n
As director of community development and assistant township manager, Nicolo helped implement a number of township improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe assisted with public works in developing the sewer lateral ordinance. We assisted in developing the noise enforcement ordinance with public conduct for the police department. We developed the rental inspection ordinance. We amended the property maintenance ordinance. I developed the MS4 program for the township.<\/p>\n
\u201cReorganizing the department was my biggest accomplishment. We changed the location of the office. We moved it up to the front lobby, so that people could come directly to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur work was kind of disjointed. We took everything and put it back in our office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Efficiencies and procedures were implemented to make things run smoother, including GovWell, a software program for local government, with an agreement approved by commissioners at the Oct. 23 meeting.<\/p>\n
Nicolo said the new Giant supermarket expected to open in November is a big plus for the township.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to get Giant into the South Mall, which is going to turn that mall around.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to attract more commercial businesses and try to maintain our neighborhoods, so that we have a good balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSalisbury is kind of unique. Salisbury has South Mountain and Lehigh Mountain, which is very rural. Lehigh Street, East Emmaus Avenue and East Susquehanna Street are very developed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenges for Salisbury are the sewer rehabilitation project and the MS4 mandate, that was forced on the township by the state, and the cost of the police radios by the county,\u201d Nicolo said.<\/p>\n
At the Oct. 23 meeting, Nicolo said, \u201cWorking for Salisbury Township has been an incredibly rewarding experience and it has been an honor to serve this community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my coworkers and staff for their unwavering teamwork and professionalism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey come to work each day dedicated to service in the best interests of the township and it has been a privilege to work alongside them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would also like to acknowledge those who shoulder the enormous responsibility of making difficult, and often thankless, decisions on behalf of the community: the board of commissioners. Your service and leadership are deeply appreciated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you all for the invaluable experiences, opportunities and friendships I have gained during my time with Salisbury Township. It has truly been a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners President Debra J. Brinton presents Sandy Nicolo with a framed resolution commemorating his retirement at the Oct. 23 township meeting.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTOs BY PAUL WILLISTEINSandy Nicolo is joined for a photo by son Daniel, left, daughter Andrea, second from left and wife Theresa, right, at the Oct. 23 Salisbury Township meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Among the \u201cwhereas\u201d typical of resolutions approved by municipal boards were words not so typical honoring Allesandro \u201cSandy\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-19489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}