Supervisors approve road contract
CARMICHAELS – Cumberland Township supervisors awarded a contract Monday to repave all the streets in Crucible.
The contract was awarded to Victor Paving, which submitted a bid of $160,667.85, the lowest of the four proposals received by the township. The work will include repaving slightly less than three miles of roadway. Work is expected to begin this spring.
The supervisors were questioned by resident Emmett McKenzie about the use of the township’s natural gas impact fee revenue.
The supervisors approved the use of the $1,039,586 in impact fee revenue from the first disbursement of Act 13 money when they adopted a budget in December.
Of the amount, $337,000 will go for machinery, roads and fuel; $535,200 for fire departments and the police department, including police officer salaries; $107,000 for parks; $40,386 for a capital reserve fund; and $20,000 for updating the zoning ordinance.
McKenzie questioned why police officers’ salaries were being paid with Act 13 money instead of general fund money. Supervisor Bill Groves said funding police salaries with Act 13 money allowed the supervisors to free up general fund money for the project to repave the streets in Crucible.
McKenzie also asked the supervisors to consider using the money to reduce township taxes.
Groves said the supervisors had considered that but thought it was important first to make sure the township was on sound financial footing, part of which involves creating the capital reserve fund.
He also said the township doesn’t know how much money it will receive in Act 13 money in the future. The amount the township receives depends on the number of wells drilled in the township and this year, the number of wells drilled so far has declined compared to previous years, he said.
“When we’re in a position financially to lower taxes, we will lower taxes,” he said.
The supervisors announced cleanup days will be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 13 and 14. Residents can bring their unwanted items to the municipal building. No tires, refrigerants or liquids will be accepted, but computer equipment and televisions will be accepted.
Township police and Carmichaels Borough police also will hold a drug take-back event at the borough building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27.
People who have prescription medicine they wish to dispose of can bring them to the borough building at that time. The medicines will be disposed of properly, preventing them from possibly being used illegally.
In other business, the supervisors hired Anthony M. Cancilla and Nicholas K. Powell as part-time police officers at a rate of $12.50 an hour each with no benefits.
The supervisors also awarded contracts for gasoline and diesel fuel and stone.
Jacob’s Petroleum received the contract for fuel with a bid of $3.2555 for gasoline and $3.1990 for diesel. Jacob’s submitted the lowest responsible bid. Three bids were received; one was rejected for being incomplete.
The supervisors awarded a contract for a variety of sizes of stone to Laurel Aggregate, which submitted a low bid of $103,900.
The supervisors also appointed Mervyn Wilson to the parks and recreation board.