MILLBURY – The Lake Township Trustees reluctantly and narrowly approved buying a new truck for the road
department at Tuesday’s meeting.
The $129,000 purchase had been discussed for several weeks, and was approved Tuesday with a 2-1 vote.
Melanie Bowen and Richard Welling voted yes; Jeff Pettit voted no.
After several minutes of discussion, audience member Randy Saint John asked Fiscal Officer Vicki
Schwamberger if the new truck was in the budget.
"Can we afford this?" he asked.
Schwamberger said the amount was not in the road department budget and would be taken out of the general
fund, and financed.
Saint John said he would not like the trustees to propose a levy to finance the purchase. Trustee Richard
Welling said the only foreseeable levy was a fire renewal in November.
Road supervisor Dan McLargin said not having a fourth truck for snow removal was taking a toll on the
other trucks and affecting how crews plowed. Without the extra truck, workers have to get the main roads
clear, then work on the additions, he said.
Pettit said he would have liked to have a third estimate on repairing the current truck. Two estimates of
$10,000 and $20,000 were obtained, and McLargin said he tried to get a third one but a local business
that he had contacted did not reply.
Trustee Richard Welling said that a representative from one of the companies that provided an estimate on
repairing the old truck said it should be dumped.
The old truck is a 1994 International.
The new truck, a 2014 single-axle Freightliner, has an aluminum drop box, plow hitch and salt spreader.
It will be bought at the state purchasing price of $129,500 from Stoops Freightliner, Lima.
The purchase will include a $29,000 down payment, with the rest financed over three years with 4.3
percent interest. The total interest payment will be $8,300, Schwamberger said.
Pettit did vote yes on the motion to finance.
The trustees are still debating what to do with the old truck. Options include trying to sell it with a
reserve bid and keeping it for spare parts.
Also at the meeting, the trustees:
• Heard from McLargin that one of two 300-ton road salt orders had been received.
• Entered into a one-year contract with Workplace Resources, Toledo, for an employee assistance program
for $2,269.
• Voted to pay annual Special Weapons and Tactics team dues of $3,000 to the Perrysburg Township Police
Department.
• Approved spending $1,877 on emergency engine repairs to the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe police vehicle. The
work was done by Baumann-Chevrolet Genoa.
• Hired Field Services, Wauseon, for $1,600 to provide preventative maintenance on the township’s four
outdoor tornado sirens.
•
Voted to spend $1,140 for springs replacement on the 2002 International dump truck from Toledo Spring
Service. The springs broke during snow plowing on Sunday, McLargin said.
• Paid Carnegie Federal Body LLC, Cleveland, $882 for a replacement battery charger on a fire station 2
unit.
• Approved paying $830 for six firefighters to attend the Partners for Life conference put on by Vincent
Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, Feb. 13-15.
• Approved buying a Myracle Recording System for dispatch for $13,795. The township will use $11,274 from
an Assistance to Firefighters grant toward it. The purchase is from Stephen Campbell and Associates,
Beachwood.