Lease Agreement For Ladder Truck Approved

South Strabane Township Supervisors needed some time to review several housekeeping issues, so therefore they continued their July 22 meeting to July 30. Chief among the issues voted on was a lease agreement for a ladder truck that has been ordered for the fire department. According to Fire Chief Jordan Cramer, the 10 year lease agreement has a more than $600,000 balloon payment at the end of the contract. Cramer says that it is a cost savings mechanism for the township. He says that there are bond issues coming up in the next several years, and if interest rates are lower than the lease payments, the payment for the remainder of the $1.3 million dollar apparatus could be rolled into that bond issue. Cramer says that it is conceivable that could provide additional interest savings. The item passed 3-2 with supervisors Jeff Bull and George Rowand dissenting. Bull still feels that the ladder truck is an expense that should not have been approved. He points to mutual aid companies that he says could provide adequate ladder truck services. Cramer disagrees. He pointed to the December 2022 fire at the Thomas Campbell Apartments. He says the township’s current truck was unable to adequately serve the purposes needed that day. One person died in that fire. An area that both Bull and Cramer agree on is the idea of countywide services for organizations like fire departments. Bull feels that would be a better use of public funds. Cramer agrees, pointing to increasing costs of equipment and struggles to find fire fighters. In other township business, supervisors approved a plan put forth by township Roadmaster Kevin Montgomery to reopen Berry Road. He says that he can reopen the road for just over $2500 in materials and township manpower in a period of a couple of days. He was extremely direct in warning supervisors that this would be just a temporary fix to reopen the road. The proper solution would be to repair the road correctly by using a box culvert system to better manage storm water runoff. Berry Road has been closed since a severe rainstorm collapsed part of the road during Father’s Day weekend.