BARNESVILLE — Village Council voted to go ahead with the purchase of a new dump truck after the dealer lowered the asking price so the bidding process could be avoided.

At a previous council meeting, Village Administrator Roger Deal had informed council of his difficulty in finding a new dump truck. The village had allocated $85,000 for the purchase in the 2022 budget.

Deal had said there was a Dodge cab and chassis available locally that could be outfitted to meet workers’ needs, but it was priced over $50,000 and would require going through a state mandated bidding process to make the purchase.

At the council meeting April 4, Deal said the dealer had since made an offer to sell the truck to the village for $49,935 to avoid the need to go through that process and that outfitting the truck with the dump bed, spreader, plow, and hydraulics would cost an additional $42,248 bringing the total to $92,183. Deal said that they could upgrade to a stainless steel spreader and “poly” fenders for an additional $3,550.

The matter was discussed at length, with Councilman Steve Hill saying he had checked with O.S. Hill who said they were going to have nine Ford trucks delivered in August, but that two of those were already spoken for and suggested village leaders “put their name in the pile” in an attempt to get one of those.

Councilman Tony Johnson, who works for Waste Management Systems and has extensive experience with large truck fleets, expressed his concern with putting together a “hodge-podge fleet,” with the rest of the village trucks being Fords.

Councilmen Terry McCort and Tim McKelvey both expressed their opinions that due to the uncertainty of availability they believed the village should go ahead and purchase the Dodge, with McKelvey eventually making the motion to do so and to add the upgrades as well.

The motion passed 4-2, with Council President Les Tickhill and Councilman Brian Yarnall joining McKelvey and McCort in favor, while Hill and Johnson voted against the purchase.

Also at Monday’s meeting, Deal invited council to attend the bid opening for the Slope Creek Waterline Project which will be held in council chambers at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Deal said that 10 contractors had purchased plans, with seven attending the pre-bid meeting, which he felt was “a good sign.”

Deal also said he was asking for a change in pipe on the bid specifications from PVC to HDPE, explaining that it was a thicker walled pipe which would be sturdier with stronger joints, and that it looked like it would be more readily available and therefore less expensive.

Larry Taylor, who had represented Volunteer Energy with whom the village had a natural gas aggregation agreement with before the company declared bankruptcy on March 25, addressed council expressing his concern for the effect the bankruptcy would have on the communities that had been involved with the company.

He introduced Scott Delcastro from Trebel Energy, who made a short presentation.

Council approved Fire Chief Tim Hall’s request to apply for $135,000 in grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the purchase of new vehicle rescue equipment and air packs.

At Hall’s request a Safety Committee meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m. today.

Warren Township Trustee Jim Greer addressed council, reminding members that the annual Warren Township and Barnesville cleanup day would be held at the old B&O Depot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 30 and that they were still needing volunteers to help with loading and unloading.

Yarnall asked Park Director Rich Wells about complaints he had received concerning the scheduling of ball fields at Memorial Park.

A discussion on the matter ensued, with Wells explaining the difficulty of scheduling while the high school teams were using the big field and that once that is finished up it became simpler.

Bunting said that it was up to the various leagues’ officers to communicate with each other with McKelvey adding that there has been a need for additional ball fields in the village for years, but that a lack of available flat ground had prevented anything ever being done to remedy the problem.

It was suggested that the problem be addressed at the upcoming Park Board meeting at 7 p.m. May 3 at the youth center at the park.

Bunting announced Mayor’s Court figures for the month of March , saying the state had received $916.59, the county $34.50, and the vilage $1,334.00, for a total of $2,285.

In other business, council approved paying bills in the amount of $86,360.53, and approved building permits for Ray Macmillan to demolish a garage at 812 Bond Ave., for Derek Butler for a new metal roof at the North Street Apartments, for Brandon Keiser to demolish a house at 210 W. South St. and for Randy Chance to demolish a trailer at 460 Watt Avenue.