In the height of paving season, the last thing a road crew wants or needs is broken equipment. And in Mahoning Township a broken roller caused major problems for the supervisors because of the dilemma it created in Tuesday night's meeting. But supervisors in the end decided with a 4-0 vote to check with Penn-Hazle equipment for a roller as well as seeing if Summit Hill could loan or rent one to the township. If neither panned out, then the motion approved the purchase of a new Case with a trailer and a deferred payment as per Road Crew Leader Ron Reeser's report.

"We still have a good six weeks of paving to do and the roller is broken down and it's so old that several of the parts we need are no longer being produced," said Reeser during last evening's supervisor's meeting. He explained to supervisors chief among the problems plaguing the township's roller is a broken spindle. "The few parts that are available will cost $1,063 and others we need are no longer being produced. I've looked into renting or replacing the roller, but all of the companies that rent them have them out until November," explained Reeser.Reeser said the last time paving material can be purchased from the manufacturing plants is October 25th so time is of the essence. There are still three paving projects that were expected to get done this year. "We really need to do Ashtown Road especially while it is still closed. Also Flagstaff and Beaver Run Road were on the schedule. Ashtown though is in deplorable condition."Supervisor George Stawnyczyj inquired as to whether he checked with Hertz and United Equipment in the Lehigh Valley. Reeser said the companies he called that did rent them had costs that ranged between $1,750 to $1,950 per month, but reiterated that none were available until the end of the season.Local builder Jake Arner mentioned that perhaps some of the excavators might have equipment the township could use. While no one knew what the actual costs would be, supervisors speculated based on similar equipment rentals that an hourly rate could range up to $125 an hour for that course of action.Reeser said that he checked with Lehighton and East Penn Township. Lehighton has a smaller roller good for street use but probably not the rural paving like the township's larger roller. East Penn's Galion roller was also out of commission. It was suggested to check with Summit Hill to see if they would be willing to lend or rent a roller to the township.One option that Reeser gave supervisors was a 2010 Volvo he found with 70 hours on it that is priced at $28,600. He added a new model would cost $36,900, but would have a warranty. Stawnyczyj said he felt that whatever was purchased should have some type of warranty and asked Reeser if the companies under the Costars contract that have rollers for sale could bring them in to be tested. Costars contracts allow the township to purchase equipment without the bidding process as the companies under that contract have already been vetted by a bidding process.Reeser said the companies would bring them in and told them they would also work with the township to purchase a roller if their intention was to purchase one in 2012. "They said they would defer the payments until next year if we intended to buy one." Reeser pointed out the average increase in roller costs is $2,000 per year. "They increased from about $35,000 to almost $37,000 this year. It is possible they could increase by next season." Reeser said that they would lock the price in at this year's cost if the township indicated they wanted to buy one.Chairperson John Wieczorek asked Reeser if he thought the business offering the Volvo would be open to leasing it. Reeser said they had no rental models and he wasn't sure if they would rent the equipment that was for sale.Supervisor Frank Ruch asked him if he contacted Penn-Hazle. Ron said he had not but could do so in the morning just to see if there was a roller available through them.As supervisors discussed the idea of renting versus purchasing or making an intention to purchase, Ruch pointed out a problem he had with the general direction they seemed to be taking. "We have a month and a half of paving to still do and it will cost us about $3,000 and then we are going to buy something next year at $37,000? We just added $3,000 onto the price of a roller we discussed buying for next year."Reeser reminded the board though that the Volvo model would still need to be bid out which would lose 30 days from the paving schedule. He reiterated though that the companies that had rollers for sale under Costars would be willing to defer the first payment until next year to help out the township if they were to commit to it.Ruch said he would rather purchase a new one, then throw rent money on top of the purchase price just to defer the decision until next year.Stawnyczyj said he believed the board should make a purchase of a roller that comes with a warranty through Costars and put the existing Galion on GovDeals for parts. GovDeals is an Internet site used by municipalities to buy and sell equipment.Secretary-Treasurer Natalie Haggerty told the board there is a planned 1/2 mill increase scheduled for the equipment fund for 2012 but by June 2013 the fund will be down to $14,000 making their long term equipment budget pretty tight. "There's not much room for repairs."Reeser mentioned that under the Costars contract there are two rollers that are candidates, a Case and a Caterpillar. Of the two, Reeser said he preferred the Case roller because the visibility is much better and the parts are not as proprietary as the Caterpillar parts are. In addition to the approximate $37,000 cost for a new roller, he recommended that the board also purchase a trailer for it at a cost of around $4700.Wieczorek said he felt the course of action that should be pursued is for Reeser to check with Summit Hill for the availability of their roller for use along with an operator if they required it. Also, he should check for equipment at Penn-Hazle as well. If neither pans out, the township will commit to purchasing the Case roller and trailer. The motion carried 4-0 with Supervisor Travis Steigerwalt absent.