Latrobe Council this week awarded a $231,000 bid for repairing a compactor at the city’s solid waste transfer station — and the sooner the work is done, the better.

The city is seeking additional bids for improvements in and around its municipal parking garage.

The aging compactor, which is used to process bulk trash before it is trucked to a local landfill, recently broke down, according to the city’s public works director, Scott Wajdic.

“We had a problem with the compactor for a day and a half,” Wajdic told council. “It tore up some couplers. We were down to repair that.”

The compactor is an essential piece of equipment at the transfer station. “Without it, we’re out of business there,” Rosie Wolford, the city’s former mayor, noted last year.

City officials initially discussed replacing the unit but opted instead for repairs. Ligonier Construction submitted the low bid for the work, which will be funded through recent refinancing of a $2.6 million city bond issue from 2016.

Latrobe also intends to tap that bond package to pay for repair of deteriorating concrete in cantilevers that overlook parking garage entrances on Spring and Weldon streets.

The problem was discovered in 2019, when other overdue repairs were made to the garage at a cost of $68,692. That earlier work included updating expansion joint sealant and rusted handrails, renewing waterproofing on the upper deck and repairing concrete.

Meanwhile, the cantilevers were wrapped in a coating to protect them from the elements and prevent pieces from falling, according to City Manager Michael Gray.

Council authorized city engineering consultant Gibson-Thomas to advertise for bids for completing the cantilever repairs and for updating worn concrete at the adjacent Courtyard Plaza — an area that provides pedestrian access to the lower level of a two-story mini mall.

Latrobe officials expect to use federal money from a community development block grant and from the city’s pandemic recovery funds to pay for the project, which includes refurbishing a concrete ramp and stairs that lead to the plaza from Spring Street.

“I’ve talked to business owners who are very excited it’s going through,” Mayor Eric Bartels said of the plaza work.

“We anticipate having bids out by the end of the month,” Gray said.

Owners of the mall property are responsible for maintenance of a large set of stairs that descends to the lower plaza level from Ligonier Street.

Gray said he’ll explore whether pandemic-related funding is available to invest in phone software that could be used to send notifications of emergencies or other urgent events to residents who would sign up for the program.

“It would definitely help with getting information out,” he said.

Potential uses could include alerting residents of specified wards when they should move parked cars from streets to make way for the city’s street sweeper.

Councilman Ralph Jenko asked if city staff could post signs on affected streets in advance of street sweeping.

Wajdic said a street sweeping alert is placed on the city’s website and Facebook page when possible. “We try to put it on there a day in advance,” he said, but he noted sweeping must be coordinated with the city’s garbage pickup schedule and can change based on weather or other unforeseen factors.

“I know it’s a logistics problem and it’s never gong to be perfect,” Jenko said.

Latrobe received an initial pandemic recovery allotment of $409,000 last year and expects to receive a similar amount this year.

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