Eldred Township got 4 inches of rain on Dec. 17, resulting in some flooded roads, washouts and trees down. One tree fell down into a stream, which diverted water onto a roadway.

Jonathan Gula, the director of Public Works, said they used the backhoe to remove the tree and then cleaned up the roadway.

“If they’re calling for bad weather, we as the road crew come in at 4-4:30 in the morning. We drive all our roads,” he said. “We try to have everything open for the traveling public by 6 o’clock.”

Gula also said his department lent a dump truck to Ross Township for a bridge project. In turn, Ross Township lent their shoulder machine and operator, and did some shoulder repair work for Eldred Township.

“It was a good trade-off for us,” Gula said.

A resident asked supervisors about why the Christmas lights were not installed on the municipal building.

Gula said that the lights were in bad condition and did not work. It would cost about $400 to replace them, so he looked into a lighting system that would stay up year round.

Gula said a permanent system would be about $1,200, but the colors can be changed for the holiday. For example, they can be red, white and blue for Independence Day. He would have tried to get them for this year, but there just wasn’t enough time.

Food pantry

Next, Karena Thek, the director of the West End Food Pantry, asked the supervisors for permission to place a removable canister for a forklift near the food bank.

“We were blessed with grant money to buy a forklift, finally after nine years of moving thousands and thousands of pounds of food. But we need somewhere to house the forklift,” she said.

Thek presented the supervisors with two housing options. One is a canister that can be moved around and a more permanent garage-like structure. Both options will cost the food bank about the same amount of money. Supervisor Scott Clark asked Thek which she prefers getting.

“Talking to Jonathan at great length, we prefer the canister. It is designed to be moved by a forklift,” she said. “It’s super-duper easy to place. ... But to be honest with you, we just need a spot to put the forklift.”

Thek said they need the forklift in order to move the pallets of food from the trucks to the building. Currently, all of the unloading is done by hand. A pallet can weigh up to 3,000 pounds.

The supervisors approved allowing for the container for the forklift and to have the township zoning officer weigh in on where it should be placed.

Fire department

Fire Chief Brian Stankovich from the Kunkletown Fire Department reported that a 2024 freightliner tanker has been ordered. It will cost $620,938.

“That’s good,” he said.

Changes with emission requirements are causing the prices to go up substantially, Stankovich said.

The new truck will be delivered in two years.

Other business

In other business, the township is looking into putting up hometown hero banners on the light poles. Resident Shirley Krum reported to the supervisors that she has a contact name and information for them.

The banners are 30 inches wide by 60 inches tall. They cost $125 each plus brackets for $65. Krum told the supervisors they would need to find out if PPL owns the poles, and get a waiver to install the brackets.

The banners are used to honor a soldier, firefighter or police officer, either alive or deceased. The commissioners said they would look into it further.

“I think it is a good thing for people to honor our veterans in the township, not just once a year but all year,” Hoffman said.

The Eldred Township Thrift Shop will be closed for the holidays and will reopen on Jan. 9.