DELMAR — Bethlehem Town Board members will vote on whether or not to allow its highway department to purchase a list of vehicles and equipment — in an amount not to exceed $1.2 million — when it meets tonight, Wednesday, May 26.
The request from Highway Superintendent Marc Dorsey is explained in his memorandum to board members documented within the meeting’s online agenda packet. The money is to be drawn from the Highway Fund Capital Reserve Fund, but must first be adopted through a resolution, and is subject to a permissive referendum.
The proposed purchases would be added to the highway department’s fleet of vehicles. All but one of the items are to be bought through either the Onondaga County purchasing contract or the Sourcewell purchasing cooperative. The one, a née Ford F-550 foreman’s utility truck, is to go through a bid process.
The items include four new International/Navistar HV607 trucks. Two are listed as heavy duty plow and salt trucks each equipped with a wing plow. They are to be purchased from H.L. Gage Sales of Albany, for no more than $305,000. A third truck, fitted with a 4-way nose plow, is on the list for $105,000. And the fourth, listed as a hook lift truck, is to be purchased for $88,000.00.
“The three new International plow and salt trucks will be replacing three trucks that are currently out of service unable to be used,” Dorsey stated. He added that they will be used mainly for snow and ice control, but also for leaf pick up and paving operations. “The new International/Navistar hook lift truck will be replacing a 2006 International/Navistar hook lift plow truck with 113,000 miles on it.”
The highway superintendent also added that one of the new trucks will be used to haul recycling dumpster containers at town transfer station and for other locations throughout the town.
Other purchases include two additional International trucks at $130,000 and $55,000, respectively. Both are to replace trucks at or nearly 20 years old.
Among other equipment there are two, new Spartan Leaf Pro Plus trailer mounted leaf vacuums to be purchased at $168,000, and a new John Deere 524 front end wheel loader for $158,000.
The new vacuums would allow for just two operators to use, unlike the equipment the town currently has, which Dorsey said requires three. This issue the department stated as a reason for cancelling spring vacuuming services, as virus mitigation protocols prevented three-people crews.
“The two new Spartan Leaf Pro Plus leaf vacuums will be replacing 2, 2005 ODB self-contained leaf vacuums each with over 2500 hours on them,” Dorsey stated. “They are both in poor condition and beyond their useful life. These new machines are much more advanced and allow for only two employees to operate much more efficiently than the 3 employees required for the older machines.”
