BATH TOWNSHIP — The Bath Township Board of Trustees got a jump on Old Man Winter during the Sept. 19 township meeting and approved the purchase of a new dump truck and two snow plows.
The truck is a 2018 Western Star 4700SB that the township will purchase through a state bid process from Kinstle Western Star Trucks, located in Wapakoneta. Township Road Supervisor Michael Rhoades, who brought the purchase request before the township trustees, stated that he had compared prices of new dump trucks among three truck dealers, International, Freightliner and Western Star.
“International came in at $136,900, Freightliner at $141,400 and Western Star at $146,000. The Western Star is a little more money, but it is a larger truck and well built,” Rhoades said. “I have also heard some good testimonials about it.”
Rhoades also pointed out that the Western Star dealer would be able to supply the truck right away. However, International and Freightliner could not fill the order before February.
According to Township Trustee Steve Ross, who accompanied Rhoades on a test drive of the Western Star truck, the new dump truck will be equipped with a stainless-steel snow plow, dump bed, and salt spreader, as well as a plow balancing system, a salt prewetting system (beet juice) and a bed vibrator.
“The bed vibrator will be a new feature added to a township truck. As you raise the bed, the vibrator shakes the material toward the back end of the truck which makes for more even distribution of material,” Ross explained during a recent interview.
Ross noted that the truck would also be used to haul gravel, dirt, salt, and debris, such as tree limbs and brush.
The new truck will replace a 1999 International 4900 dump truck that the township will be selling soon. The new purchase will give the township a fleet of three full-size dump trucks, one small dump truck, a pickup truck, one utility truck, and a bucket truck.
The new, 10-foot stainless steel snow plows, made by Henderson in Bucyrus, will be equipped with trip-edge moldboards and interchangeable hydraulic cylinders, according to Rhoades.
“I got two estimates for the snow plows, and Henderson was about $500 cheaper for each plow,” Rhoades said. “We are looking at $9,743 per plow which brings the purchase to a total of $19,486.”
The new snow plows will replace two existing snow plows that Ross said are ancient, worn out, rusty, and have been welded and repaired too many times. The township also plans to sell the older snow plows in the near future.
“We have road salt in the barn and a full, four-man road crew with our new addition. We will have three snow-ready trucks; and as Mike (Rhoades) said, we have great attitudes,” Ross said. “Truly, nobody moves the snow better than Bath Township.”
In other road-related business, Rhoades reported to township trustees that the schedule for the 2018 road construction projects has been pushed back a bit. With the completion of the Byron Road project, contracted road crews have move forward with the milling and resurfacing of Ravenwood Road. The road crews will then mill and resurface Clearcreek Trail and follow up with the milling and resurfacing of a portion of Bath Road.
“Rains have caused a setback, but road crews will work on the Clearcreek Trail project along with the road projects in Yellow Springs,” said Rhoades. “We are also waiting for ODOT to finish the road construction project on State Route 4 before we move forward with the Bath Road project. We will get the projects done this year.”
Rhoades reported that the township road crew paved the roads in Fairfield Cemetery in Fairborn as part of an agreement with the city to trade labor and materials. The township road crew also traded labor and the use of equipment with Miami Township.
“We did some tree work for Miami Township. In return, we got some help from them with labor and the use of an excavator. They helped us out on Ravenwood too,” Rhoades said.
Ross pointed out that local township and city governments continue to combine their resources and share staff and equipment as a cost-savings measure for now and in the future.
“We are using our road crew and equipment in an efficient way which the State of Ohio encourages,” said Ross.
The Bath Township Board of Trustees will meet again in regular session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the township office, 1006 Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road.
