After a $250,000 purchase of two large pieces of equipment and a trailer to carry them was put on the agenda at the Sept. 23 meeting without backup information, the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees voted 6-1 to make the purchase.
Treasurer Brad Patterson was the only board member voting no. He said he was not against the purchase, but the proposal was just emailed to board members the night before the meeting. He said it was just put on the agenda at the meeting.
He said it was not an emergency and there were no pictures and no information for board members to consider.
“I don’t like the process,” Patterson said.
Supervisor Tim Bowman had put the item on the agenda and made the motion to approve, which was seconded by trustee James Frazier. After a brief discussion, he called the question and the motion passed.
At the beginning of the meeting township manager Ken Marten said, “I screwed up,” noting he wrote up the proposal but didn’t get it to the clerk in time to put it in the packet. He mentioned a mini excavator for $107,000. He apologized that it was not in the packet.
Supervisor Bowman said he got the $24,000 quote on the trailer to haul the equipment. He said the two pieces of machinery and the trailer total $250,000.
Bowman said he has 350 and 250 trucks and the 250 is enough to pull the loaded trailer.
Clerk Don LaPorte said he would like to understand the scope of work to be done with this equipment and the return on the township investment and how long to get a return on the investment. He pointed out it is a quarter of a million dollars.
Bowman said it will keep the parks in shape. He said when there is a big snowstorm they can plow and remove the snow. He said the snow can be pushed up over the curb, not just in piles at the curb.
Trustee Matthew Oddy said he was concerned about proper training for the large equipment.
Bowman said he’s been using such equipment for the past 40 years and, “I could train.”
Oddy asked if he was a certified trainer and Bowman said he wasn’t.
Board members said they didn’t want workers to be buried in a hole for not knowing the safety process.
Department of Public Works director Ron Tabor said the equipment will help in the water department. He said classes are not expensive and Sumpter could partner with Huron Township.
“We’ll do the training,” he assured the board members.
Clerk LaPorte asked if the purchase was going to be financed and the financial director called out from the back of the room that it can come from the water fund.
Trustee Tim Rush said he hopes there is enough room to store the new equipment in the pole barn because it is so expensive and needs protection.
DPW director Tabor said the new equipment has air conditioning and heating in the winter and it needs to be locked up for storage.
Oddy suggested the payment come 75% from the water fund and 25% from the general fund. The motion passed 6-1.
In other business at the one-hour-38-minute meeting, the board:
• Heard Bowman ask for a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk, the Christian/Republican activist who was assassinated Sept. 10.
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