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NEGLEY -- A heavy snowfall that came on nearly without warning last week left the Middleton Township road crew without two trucks.
Township trustees Nancy Michaels and Greg Lipp and Fiscal Officer Bob Chapman said this week that one of the trucks is still out being fixed.
The township's only two road crew employees were plowing roads on Dec. 13 during the snow when the 2004 International truck broke a hydraulic line, they said.
About two hours later the 2010 2.5-ton International truck had its hoist break somehow, which then pushed the subframe out.
The 2004 truck was fixed within a few hours that same day by Steinbinder's Service and put back on the roads while the 2010 is still being fixed at Steinbinders in Negley.
The township has three 2.5-ton dump trucks and two 1-ton dump trucks.
Lipp said the spare trucks helped tremendously during the few hours that both trucks were out of service last week.
Due to the delay, Lipp helped out by driving one of the 1-ton trucks to help clear roads that day while Michaels took phone calls from residents.
"We probably didn't get around as efficiently and quickly as we normally would," Lipp said of the setback.
Chapman pointed out the 2004 and 2010 trucks are the township's newest and biggest trucks and said he was pleased with Steinbinder and his assistant's hard work at getting the 2004 truck back on the road in a few hours, while working in the slush, mud and cold.
The repair only cost the township $352, and the company didn't charge for overtime, he added.
The township did not have a cost estimate on the repairs for the 2010 truck early in the week.
"It was unfortunate the way the weather hit. It was just hard," Michaels said.
She and Lipp said other townships are having similar problems when it comes to being down a truck or two, with Michaels saying that St. Clair Township was also down to four trucks last week, with one out of service.
Lipp said an empty school bus was left on Union Ridge Road all night after not being able to be moved due to the weather conditions.
"There was nothing you could do. It was slippery," he said.
Chapman said the township has some of the "hilliest roads" in the county.
The township is home to the East Palestine School District and also has several residents who attend the Beaver Local School District.
In other business, trustees approved:
-- Appropriating an additional $20,000 in revenue received.
-- Paying bills in the amount of $53,986.
-- Paying Treeworx for one day of work to trim trees on Quay Road.
-- Paying a portion of trustee salaries from the road and bridge and road levy funds. Chapman said this is the fourth or fifth year the township has paid salaries that way and permission has been given from the state. Trustee salaries are based off the township's budget and are currently set at $857 a month for two of the trustees, with the other trustee receiving $900 a month.
-- Amending a prior motion to include a $10,000 match from the fire department's fund for the $100,000 Round 2 Local Government Safety grant the fire department is applying for. The grant has a Jan. 6 deadline is if awarded, can only be put toward fire safety and equipment.
-- Seeking construction assistance plans from the county Engineer's Office for the Vale Road and state Route 154 intersection sight improvement project.
The next meeting was set for 8 a.m. Dec. 31. The reorganizational meeting will be held first. Trustees will not have a meeting on Jan. 2.