Lower Pottsgrove is already thinking ahead.

SANATOGA PA – As if we needed a reminder of what’s due from Mother Nature in the months ahead, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township last week announced – as it does every year – that it would look to sign contractors for their help in clearing streets and roads of snow and ice during the winter.

The Board of Commissioners gave its unanimous approval last week (Sept. 7, 2010) to Manager Rodney Hawthorne’s annual request to seek bidders for snow plowing duties that supplement work done in township equipment by its employees.

The township has about 100 miles of public road, of which 25 miles are maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). To clear the remainder Lower Pottsgrove hires independent plow owners as needed, particularly during heavy accumulations, to ensure roads are cleaned in a timely manner.

It’s not cheap. Hiring contractors in past years has cost the township between $70 and $150 an hour per truck, depending on individual bids accepted and the size of trucks used.

Between three and five companies are expected to submit bids, which will be due in coming weeks. Although the township probably will rely first and most often on the most acceptable lowest-cost bidders, Hawthorne told board members all submitted bids are likely to be entertained … because you never know when Mother Nature will decide to send a wallop our way.

Photo from Google Images

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