Fairchance to resume working with grant writer
FAIRCHANCE – Borough council plans to resume working with a grant writer, who used to perform work for the borough, to apply for grants. Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to use the services of grant writer Marian Chambers and pay her 10 percent of the amount of any grant for which she prepared the application.
Chambers asked council to resume working for the borough as she did in the past and said she prepares grant applications for other agencies.
She said some grants do not allow grant writer fees to be taken from the grant money.
Council President Richard Pukl said the borough could use grant money for several projects.
In unrelated business, council agreed to buy a rebuilt hole borer for working on water lines underneath roads for $3,000.
Councilman James McDonough said there have seen several waterline breaks recently and the borough has been paying a contractor $850 each time he brings his borer.
He said a new borer would cost $7,000.
In another equipment-related matter, council instructed councilmen Howard McGhee and McDonough to prepare specifications for the rent-to-own purchase of a skid loader.
Council continued the meeting to 6:30 p.m. June 16 when the specifications are supposed to be presented and council will consider advertising for bids.
McDonough said most dealers offer rent-to-own options in which 90 percent or some portion of the rent paid is credited toward the purchase price.
He said that piece of equipment could be used for a variety of purposes including loading the borough’s dump trucks and it can run many different attachments such as a street sweeper.
The borough’s backhoe was not designed for certain work, such as backfilling ditches and leveling dirt, McDonough said.
The skid loader would be needed, he said, to work on repairing the roads leading to the Asken Hollow and Cave Hollow water reservoirs.
Council agreed to buy 20 truckloads, or 23 tons, of asphalt millings for $260 a load, or $11 a ton, to patch potholes and resurface those roads.
Councilman Robert Ellsworth said the holes in the roads are huge and could damage borough trucks.
He said walking on the roads is difficult due to its poor condition.
In other business, Mayor Thomas Tanner said owners of abandoned and unkempt homes, and property with high grass will be cited if they don’t clean up their properties by June 16.
Lastly, Councilman Neal Christopher said state police cited a woman for fighting in Fairchance Community Park Tuesday night.