MECHANICSBURG – The Water, Sewer and Street departments will have a new vehicle at their disposal after Village Council on Monday agreed to purchase a 2016 Ford F-550 Super Duty commercial truck from Lebanon Ford.
“We definitely needed a plow truck,” Mayor Greg Kimball said. “We haven’t bought a new truck for the water and sewer guys for 20 or 25 years, or at least for as long as I’ve been here.”
The $71,000 truck features a snow plow, spreader and stainless steal dump body. It’s being purchased by the village through the state’s Cooperative Purchasing Program, Village Administrator April Huggins-Davis said.
While council agreed to move forward with the purchase, funding is be worked out by Fiscal Officer Dan Eck, who was absent from the meeting.
“Regardless of what method we use, whether it’s financing or paying outright for it, which will be Dan’s decision, I think we have a good opportunity (cost-wise) here,” Kimball said.
In March, council agreed to sell the village’s 1996 International dump truck, donated to the village by Jim Trainer in 2008, to Goshen Township for $10,000.
Huggins-Davis said the township-size dump truck was too big for village streets, which led to the village deciding to sell it.
As for the village’s current 1992 Chevrolet heavy duty truck/snow plow, council discussed over the past year the need to replace it due to age-related maintenance issues. Kimball said the plan is to sell the truck once the new one is delivered.
Excavating equipment headed to shop
After discussing whether to repair the village’s two-decade-old backhoe or purchase a new or used unit, council passed a motion to have the current backhoe repaired at Koenig Equipment, Urbana, at a cost not to exceed $10,000.
Huggins-Davis said the repair work involves a “general overhaul” of moving parts.
Council decided not to spend additional funds at this time to fix non-mechanical, cosmetic issues.
A new backhoe with similar features to the village’s current unit would have cost over $85,000 to purchase, Huggins-Davis said, while used ones start at $20,000.
In other business:
•Huggins-Davis said a project to replace approximately 600 linear feet of sidewalk on South Main Street using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program funding will begin in early August.
The area of sidewalk to be replaced on the west side of South Main Street spans from Hemisphere Coffee Roasters (39 S. Main St.) to the last residential property (95 S. Main St.) before the railroad tracks.
•Council member Charles Foss, who has been looking into the conditions of village-owned buildings, was given approval to purchase supplies needed to fix roof issues at both the Water Department and Street Department buildings.
Foss also agreed to seek quotes for the installation of a metal roof on the municipal building.
•Flowline, Columbus, was to be in the village throughout the week using a camera to inspect sanitary sewer lines for cracks, Huggins-Davis said. Catch basins will be cleaned at the same time.
•The Street Department is compiling a list of areas of roadway in need of repairs this summer.
•Prior to the meeting, Kimball swore in David Patrick as the newest officer at the Mechanicsburg Police Department.
•Council passed a motion giving Mechanicsburg Fire & EMS permission to sell the department’s 1995 International squad on GovDeals.com as a non-emergency vehicle. The village recently replaced the squad with a 2017 International.
•Zoning Officer Dusty Hurst thanked Walnut Ridge Farm in Urbana for donating flats of petunias to the village, which have been planted in pots throughout the downtown area. Council member Scott Salee thanked Champion Feed and Pet Supply in Mechanicsburg for helping maintain the flower pots.
