Lawrence Supers Address Several Items of Business
Several items of business were discussed by the Lawrence Township Supervisors during Tuesday’s meeting.
Supervisor Jeremy Ruffner had information on new radios for the police department. He noted that the current radios will soon reach the end of their useful life and the supervisors had initially planned to replace them gradually.
Ruffner did some research and at a previous meeting noted that he might be able to get radios at a much better price from Motorola, although the township would have to purchase all of them at one time.
Ruffner has been talking with Motorola and discussing the APX 4000 radios, which are retailed at over $3,000. However, Motorola will give them a discounted price of $2,657 each for 15 radios.
The company also has a lease to own program where the township would be able to pay for the radios over a three-year period at 3.9 percent interest.
Ruffner said the first payment wouldn’t be due until the end of the first year, and there is no penalty for paying off early if they are able to do so. Additionally, there is grant funding available toward the purchase.
Ruffner said he wanted to talk with Police Chief Doug Clark about the radios and what they will need in regards to chargers, batteries and even the possibility of getting a couple of higher-end models.
He added that if they wait and purchase the radios a few at a time over the next few years, it will come at a significantly higher cost.
Instead of waiting to move on the opportunity, Supervisor Randy Powell motioned for the township to move forward on the purchase after Ruffner and Clark meet to discuss all the needs of the police department.
Ruffner also briefly talked about the fire engine that the supervisors voted to purchase during the last meeting. He participated in the meeting via telephone and voted against purchasing the truck.
He said he still has some concerns about the purchase, noting that in the past the fire department presented the specifications they wanted and the supervisors would red line items they felt the truck did not need, and the truck would be bid out.
Powell said that this truck would be cheaper than anything else they were able to find, and that this past weekend he did sit down with the specifications from Glick and red lined items.
Later in the meeting, the supervisors confirmed the $200,000 down would come from the fire reserve account. There will also be five yearly payments of $62,751.08 with the final payment on April 1, 2024. Powell added that the payments may be less due to the line items he removed.
The supervisors discussed placing the steel barrel roller on MuniciBid. Roadmaster Ron Woodling reported that he had done research and similar models are going for about $19,000 on the site and $28-30,000 retail.
The township paid over $50,000 in 2010 for the 2008 model. Woodling wants to purchase a rubber barrel roller for dirt roads as steel barrel rollers are not designed for dirt roads.
After some discussion, the supervisors asked Woodling to look into whether any of the dealers he is working with will take the 2008 roller on trade for a used replacement.
The supervisors also voted to have the Bayer Building in Hyde appraised. Ruffner reported that Custom Global, which rents a portion of the building, is interested in purchasing the building and is willing to discuss a lease option for the space currently occupied by the police department.