Residents who use Gale Court and part of Henry Avenue in Export want to know if their roads will be maintained by the borough.

Borough officials are asking the same question.

At last week's borough council meeting, Export officials debated whether Gale Court and part of Henry Avenue -- both private roads -- should be salted and plowed by borough employees.

Combined, both streets are less than a mile long. Eight homes are on Henry Avenue and four homes and two businesses use Gale Court, which is behind Tyler Street, for parking.

Mayor Bob Campagna said the two had been maintained for at least 25 years but last year the practice stopped.

Campagna wants to know why.

"Is it going to make or break the borough to please the taxpayers to put gravel down and plow it?" Campag-na asked.

Solicitor Wes Long said public money couldn't be used to maintain private streets. However, he said, if a past practice could be established that those streets have always been maintained, then it could be permitted.

"If we've done the same thing for 40 years, then I'm OK with it being a public street," Long said. "It's a matter of continuity."

The decision to stop plowing was made without a vote by council, Campagna said. He said he wanted such a vote last week to give a final answer on which streets could be plowed and why some were stopped.

Long said the borough had to consider the legal ramifications and past practices when plowing certain areas.

"If we have done something sporadically, then I don't think you have the same past practice defense," Long said.

Without a vote to specify why the two roads weren't being maintained, Campagna said, the residents were being let down.

"At this point, I'm ashamed of council," he said.

While officials worry about what streets it can spend money on, Wayne Norris worries about being sued.

Norris, the owner of Durabond, also owns the property that the railroad in town runs along. That includes Gale Court, the section of Henry Avenue and the parking lot on Washington Avenue. He is worried about potential liability if the street isn't plowed and someone is injured.

Long said a policy could be written that covers everything Norris owns in the borough. A lease agreement also could be included to outline what the borough maintains.

Determining past practices would be the best way to solve the issue, Councilwoman Mel-anie Litz said. Then the borough can explore leasing options with Norris.

To determine past practices, officials will talk with past public works employees to determine what they did with the two streets during their employment.

Steve Opsitnik, the current public works employee, said he still wasn't sure if he is supposed to plow those streets. As a courtesy to the residents who use those roads, he said, he has plowed the roads this season during bad weather.

Louis Biesuz, who worked for the borough in the early 1980s, said when it came to plowing private streets, sometimes being a good neighbor helped determine what was plowed.

"You push a little snow for somebody, nothing bad happens," he said.

Council will revisit the issue at its next council meeting at 7:30 p.m. on April 1 at the borough building on Wash-ington Avenue.