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The Swatara Township Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to purchase a new Massey Ferguson tractor mower for $270,103 during its Dec. 12 meeting.
The purchase will include a boom mower attachment, a rotary motor for the boom motor and hydraulic controls, according to township manager Jennifer Harding. She said the quote is about $100,000 higher than they were anticipating.
Currently, the township pays about $8,000 a year to rent a boom mower, and supervisors said that rate could easily increase over the next several years along with rising costs throughout the economy. The mower can be used to trim trees, bushes and hedges and mow behind guardrails and over fences.
“One of our staff members mows road right-of-ways to keep intersections cleared and to keep roads passable,” she said after the meeting. “It’s a service that we — since I’m here — have always provided, and the board chooses to continue providing that service.”
The $270,000 quote is through COSTARS, Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program that helps local governments save money and connects them with suppliers to negotiate directly and avoid the typical bidding process.
Supervisor Richard Kreitzer said the current mower is about 20 years old and requires regular maintenance. Board members agreed this was something township staff said they needed, and it wouldn’t be just a “new toy,” according to supervisor Bill Bering.
“We don’t have a whole lot of choices — we don’t want to use a piece of junk,” supervisor Dean Patches said. “The mower would soon be not worth it to spend the money on the fixes.”
Harding said it could take 10 months to a year to get the new equipment in.
In other business:
- Supervisors unanimously approved the 2025 meeting dates. They will keep the same schedule, meeting the second Thursday of each month except for the required reorganization meeting on Jan. 6.
- Harding said the township has several paving projects coming up in 2025, including the southern end of Old Route 22, Chestnut Street and part of South Lancaster Street just south of Route 22, for a total length of about a mile. The township will put the paving projects out to bid in late winter, and there is not a more specific timeline or cost estimate at this time, according to Harding.
The Swatara Township Board of Supervisors will meet next for its reorganization meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 6 at 68 Supervisors Drive.
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