At Monday’s meeting, Bradford Township supervisors voted 2-to-1 to accept a sewer line replacement project bid to replace a line on Owens Way.
Chivers Construction submitted the lowest of five bids with $231,174.92 for the Owens Way area project. The bids were opened Feb. 26 and have been reviewed by E&M Engineers and the township solicitor.
The sole holdout, Supervisor Steve Mascho, said he was disappointed they didn’t get an estimate to grout the line and replace the part under U.S. Route 219, which he believes would have been much cheaper.
Supervisors Jim Erwin and Gayle Bauer disagreed.
“I think the best alternative is to fix it,” said Erwin, who described the issues residents in that area had due to the worn collection system.
Bauer said she voted the way she did after discussing the feasibility of Mascho’s suggestion with the township’s engineer.
The supervisors also voted in favor of hiring a part-time summer employee in the sewer department to help camera and clean sewer lines.
Mascho voiced his unhappiness that the current employees’ time wasn’t used differently, but the vote ultimately passed.
The supervisors also agreed to a transportation and disposal service agreement with Casella Waste Systems Inc., which owns the landfill.
The municipal solid waste rate increased from $40.07 to $41.27, and the plant trash rate increased from $35 to $36.05.
Bauer said they talked to Casella about the fact that the township figures out its budget for the next year in the fall and needs to know if there is going to be an increase in fees at that time.
In other business, Bauer said the Bradford Township Police Department will conduct aggressive driving enforcement from March 19 to May 1, so she advised residents to “behave yourself on the road and buckle your seatbelt.”
The supervisors announced they will begin enforcing a township ordinance requiring that residents install address signs. They reported that only five properties do not have the signs.
As per an agreement with the Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department — which helped with the project — the township will give the fire department a $5 donation for each sign sold. In 2016, 1,691 signs were sold, which means an $8,455 donation to the department; and in 2017, 125 signs were sold, which means a $625 donation to the department.
Several residents asked questions during the public participation portion of the meeting. Topics included motorists driving recklessly at the intersection of East Warren Road and High Street, the way a towing company is chosen to respond to an accident scenes, a dangerous ditch along Interstate Parkway and the poor condition of East Warren Road.
Township officials gave two reminders to residents: all checks and money orders for the tax collector must be made payable to Bradford Township Tax, not to Beth Monti; also, the McKean County Redevelopment Authority is still accepting applications for Homeowner Rehabilitation Grants.
The next monthly meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 9.
