Maintenance plan review underway for Hempfield public works equipment

Hempfield Supervisor Jay Anderson is pushing for a public works fleet maintenance plan to be established as the board approved spending an unexpected $174,000 to buy a new day cab tractor.

The vehicle is used to haul a trailer and heavy public works equipment such as a paver or excavator. The township’s model from the 1990s has had at least $27,000 in maintenance and repeated engine issues, public works Director Austin Erhard said. It has 683,000 miles.

A maintenance plan is being discussed for the department that Erhard said has vehicles nearing the end of their typical lifespan. The current cab tractor failed inspection and is in need of a frame replacement. The tractor was bought by the township in 2014 for $13,750.

“This was not an expense that I expected to bring you in 2025,” Erhard told supervisors last week.

Hempfield is leasing a tractor while the current one is out of service, township Manager Aaron Siko said.

“This is more of an emergency repair and replacement,” he said.

Erhard recommended buying a new tractor. The $174,000 will come from the capital reserve.

“While it’s a high up-front cost, I think that we as a township stand to have a good return on investment 15, 20 years down the road when we go to resell that unit,” he said.

With that surprise purchase, Anderson asked Erhard to take a look at the fleet and come up with a plan for keeping it in working order.

“Maybe we should plan to replace other trucks on a regular basis,” Anderson said.

Erhard agreed.

“A fleet management plan is something that we’ll be working on to get put into place and have recommendations going into 2026 capital discussions,” he said.

Other vehicle purchase

A Ford F-600 cab and chasis will be purchased from Smail Ford for $69,930 after a 2023 dump truck was extensively damaged in a fire this year. The operator was not hurt.

The vehicle will be upfitted for $69,300 through Stephenson Equipment Inc. Both costs will be paid through insurance reimbursement.

Smail Ford had the lowest bid. Other bidders were Meegan Ford at $73,500 and Tri-Star Ford at $76,500.