Township: $4.5M to Fund Road Repairs, Turf Field

The adopted a bond ordinance of about $4.5 million at last week's meeting to fund various capital improvements.

Most of the $4,429,500 bond will go toward equipment upgrades for infrastructure, according to Township Administrator Timothy Quinn.

Quinn said the bond was done "prudently by the finance committee."

"We get a lot of requests," he said, "we have to prioritize those requests that come in the various departments. The goal of the township has always been that we don't want to add any more debt, so we try and keep the number that we're going to incur relatively close to the debt that we're going to retire."

Some of the major roads that will be repaved and reconstructed on are Mill Road, Hilltop Circle, and Valley View Street. These road overlay projects will start in August before school starts, which is when Quinn said workers typically start working on the roads.

Part of the funding will also go to upgrade a turf field at Cornine Field, which would start by the end of the year.

Quinn also said township officials are looking to add vehicles to each department, such as replacing dump trucks at the DPW.

A new generator at the Township Police headquarters, flashing speed limit signs, and new communications equipment are other items that will be funded with this new ordinance.

Quinn said that all of these projects will take place within the next two years, but the "funding mechanism is in place."

One other thing the township is considering, but hasn't made a definite decision on yet, is a new type of garbage truck that has a mechanical arm that picks up the trash, instead of having a worker manually do it.

"We're looking at that concept," Quinn Said, "we put funding in place and we want to move forward, but we're still exploring that opportunity or if it is suitable for the township, and if it's something that we should do to make our collection more efficient."

These trucks would require one operator instead of two, and the trucks would be about $15,000 cheaper than the current trucks in use. However, the township would have to buy special garbage cans for each resident, which Quinn said is the biggest issue with these new trucks.

There are 8,800 homes in the township, and Quinn pointed out that providing a new garbage can for each resident would add up significantly.

Quinn said officials hope to make an informed decision by the end of the summer.