Housing authority buys four vehicles
The Fayette County Housing Authority recently voted to spend more than $100,000 to purchase four vehicles. One of the vehicles, a sport utility vehicle, will be used by executive director Thomas Harkless while the other three – all trucks – will be used by the maintenance department.
The authority also approved various contracts relating to housekeeping items such as elevator service, grass cutting, debris cleanup and patching and painting of public housing units.
The contracts were approved Thursday during a special meeting of the authority. Each of the contracts that were awarded was for the lowest responsible bidder.
The four vehicles that will be purchased from Davies Ford of Connellsville include a sport utility vehicle for Harkless; two F-150 four-wheel drive trucks and one F-250 pickup truck for a total of $103,350.
While a total of 12 bid forms were sent out, only two were received. The higher bid was received from Woltz and Wind Ford of Heidelberg.
A contract was approved with Eastern Elevator Service and Sales Co. of Windber to maintain and repair the elevators for three years with two one-year options. The rates range from $135 to overtime an hour to $410 for work in elevators at the White Swan and Marshall Manor buildings in Uniontown.
The authority approved a contract with Frey Tree Specialists Inc. of Smithfield for tree and shrub removal and debris cleanup for three years with two one-year options. The contract includes hourly rates ranging from $15 an hour to $150 an hour, the higher of which is for tree removal.
The contract for grass cutting, grounds keeping and emptying vacated units was approved with Lookin’ Good Services Inc. of Uniontown. That contract includes a rate of $19 an hour.
Both the Frey and Lookin’ Good contracts are for an as-needed basis.
A contract for cleaning, patching and painting of public housing units was approved with Chucks Quality Painting of North Versailles for three years with two one-year options. The contract includes rates ranging from $426 for a one-bedroom unit to $640 for a five-bedroom unit.
The authority also approved action regarding reimbursement for the February snowstorm, which was declared a disaster. Harkless said the authority must select a 48-hour period during the snowstorm and submit bills for labor and materials to get reimbursement of up to 75 percent of the costs incurred during that time frame. Harkless estimated the reimbursement to the authority would be between $15,000 and $20,000.