The Slatington Borough Council finally has a bid below $500,000 for work on one of the digesters at the sewer treatment facility. Council has been trying to get a lower bid since June.

“We finally got one,” said council member Dave Schnaars at their meeting on Monday.

The work on the digester will be to convert it from an anaerobic system to an aerobic system, said Council President Daniel Stevens. The project was put out to bid three times and was awarded to PSI Pumping Solutions Inc., of York Springs, for $339,500. The electrical portion of the project was put out twice, and was awarded to George Hayden Inc. in Hazleton for $66,643.

Stevens said the borough received a Small Water and Sewer Grant for $395,000, but it requires that the total cost of the project stay below $500,000. The total cost of this project will be slightly higher than $490,000 once electrical and engineering are added to the cost of the conversion work.

ARRO Consulting Inc. will do the engineering and design work for about $84,000.

In all, the total for the project will cost a little more than $490,000.

“We have to put in 15 percent,” Schnaars said at the meeting about the grant.

In order to keep costs below the $500,000 threshold, the borough’s maintenance workers in the sewer department will be removing pumps and piping and other parts they are familiar with in the digester. Once the conversion work is done, they will do the painting.

“We’re doing a significant amount of work, which is saving us a lot of money,” Stevens said.

The new system is a safer process, because it won’t produce methane gas, he said. This particular digester has not been working properly, so that is another reason why the council decided to stop using it and do the work to convert it.

Stevens said the work has to be done by June 2019 in order to follow the requirements of the grant, so work will be started as soon as possible.

In other business, the council voted to allow Police Chief David Rachman to put a hold on a 2018 Ford Interceptor sedan to replace an aging patrol car. The vehicle purchase will fall under the 2019 budget, and won’t be purchased until next year.

Rachman said the cost of the vehicle is about $25,000. The vehicle will have to be outfitted with a computer and other necessary equipment for law enforcement, which will add another $9,000.

The purchase is necessary, he said, because several of the department’s vehicles have higher mileage. One is at 110,000 miles and two are at 95,000 miles each.

“The fleet is up there,” Rachman said.

Under the report from the Human/Community Services Committee, council member Jason Ruff sought approval for a couple community events. These included the Northern Lehigh Events Committee’s request for the Halloween Parade to be held on Oct. 27, and the D&L Half Marathon set for Nov. 4.