Lansford Borough Council on Wednesday decided not to sell its asphalt zipper after a lone bid came up short and no bids came in for the rental of a milling machine.

Council hoped to open bids for milling, but received none.

Newly seated Councilman George Gilbert asked how the borough was going pave streets, if they have no bids for milling.

Council President Bruce Markovich said that was a good question.

Markovich said he didn’t know how they were going to deal with that and suggested calling around to see if any contractors are interested or available to mill streets.

Resident Lenny Kovach said the problem is most contractors want both the milling and paving work, and their milling and paving crews are out in tandem on jobs right now. They need a company interested in only milling, he said.

Markovich said he’d check with the borough engineer to come up with a plan to move paving forward, and also check with their local PennDOT representative to come up with names.

The borough had sought bids for 10 hours of milling for the West Abbott Street extension and for Dock Street near the mining museum, Markovich had said at a previous meeting.

A legal advertisement that ran June 20 and 27 sought the mobilization fee and rental of a milling machine for 10 hours of milling, and a remobilization fee and rental for another eight hours for additional municipalities.

The borough did receive one bid of $35,100 to purchase its zipper machine, Markovich said.

However, he didn’t think it made sense to sell the zipper and then rent another piece of equipment to do the same type of work, he said. The machine pulverizes existing asphalt surfaces and incorporates the material into the underlying base for road repairs.

Kovach asked if the borough had $20,000 to replace a head on the zipper, should something happen. It’s an expensive repair, he said.

Councilman Jack Soberick said the borough might be cutting off its nose to spite its face on selling the zipper. Not everyone was happy with the purchase several years ago, and now, the borough is selling to prove it was bad purchase and at a $35,000 loss, he said. Soberick had not been in favor the purchase.

Councilwoman Gwyneth Collevechio said if they move on the sale, they don’t have a zipper and have to pay back the state Liquid Fuels Fund.

“We have nothing,” she said.

Resident Tommy Vadyak pointed out that the borough could use the Liquid Fuels funds to buy another equipment purchase, such as a skid steer.

Markovich said that is another possibility, as the borough could buy a skid steer for about $77,000 and get a milling head.

However, Markovich said he was going to be a “no” on selling the zipper, because they didn’t have any other machine to mill streets.

Council voted 4-3 against selling the zipper. Those voting for the sale were Joe Butrie, Gilbert and Soberick.

New truck

Council did purchase a 2025 Ford F550 from Tasca Ford in Dickson City for $62,766, under the state COSTAR competitive pricing program. The purchase is for the cab and chassis.

Councilman Butrie confirmed that the vehicle was available on Tuesday. Council moved on the purchase to avoid higher costs expected and longer wait times on 2026 models.

Markovich said that there is a one-year wait for 2026 models and the cost is expected to be $10,000 more.

Council also approved buying all the additional needed equipment, including an aluminum box, spreader and plow, for $59,500 from Tamaqua Truck and Trailer.

The borough plans to use money it received from its insurance company for the street sweeper, which was lost in a garage fire earlier this year. The compensation for the sweeper was $144,000.

Future

On Thursday, Markovich said he planned on looking into paying off the 2022 Ford truck that was acquired from Rottet Motors under COSTARS. The borough has been paying annually on the vehicle through its Liquid Fuels funds.

If the borough can pay off the truck and free up the Liquid Fuels funds, then it can invest in another piece of equipment, such as a skid steer or Bobcat with a milling head and accessories, he said.

Until then, the borough needs to retain the zipper, or risk getting no paving done this year, he said.