Department of Public Works / Parks / Buildings |
Bob Bell, Director urrysville MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE NEWS
Employees: Director, Foreman, 4 Operators, 1 Mechanic, 8 Truck drivers, 6 Laborers We are responsible for approx. 154 miles of roads, 360 streets, mow approx. 120 acres of park land, plus take care of numerous buildings and restrooms. We have recently accepted, thru the Penn Dot Turnback Program, 2 roads – Logan Ferry Road and Wiestertown Roads- for a total of approx. 0.6 miles. These roads will now receive the same excellent service as all our Municipal roads, and allow us to keep residential service high.
Snow removal:
We have 15 snow routes, keeping to the average of 10 miles per route. We have also started using salt brine to compliment the treatment of roads and store 3,000 gallons on site. At the present time, we have 9 trucks equipped with brine tanks. We also have a 250-gallon tank system for the back of a pickup to pre-treat major roads. Salt Brine allows us to treat the roads at a lower temperature than salt; it also keeps the salt granular on the road instead of rolling off with traffic. Cost savings on salt material averages out to approx. 10 % savings in using salt. Also, when we pre-treat with brine, it keeps ice from sticking to the road surface, which helps with snow removal and also cuts down the number of trips when doing snow removal. With the generous donation of a Mack Tanker, we now haul brine for not just Murrysville, but for two communities in the Turtle Creek Area COG, for which we get paid for our time.
Day to Day responsibilities: Asphalt work, berming, pipe work, crack sealing, brushing, roadside mowing, guide rail spraying, guide rail repairs, sign repairs and updates to hi-intensity, street sweeping, stop bar & warning word painting, inlet cleaning & repairs, mowing of Rt. 22 and 3 jughandles, traffic island @ Trafford and Braun Rds., building maintenance for all buildings, and assist Recreation Department with some of their programs. Our goal is to provide a constant ongoing effort to keep our residents and travelers’ safe, and the Municipality always looking good.
Parks:
General mowing, trimming, infield maintenance and maintenance repairs to all of our parks and buildings. We mow approx. 120 acres, plus perform constant work with the Recreation Department and the Parks Commission on safety and availability of all our equipment, fields and courts.
Training:
With the help of our Safety Committee, we have approx. 4 LTAP training classes held at the Community Center for the entire crew. The entire crew is also trained in CPR / AED / FIRST AID every two years, as well as being trained and certified in Flagger Certification.
Vehicle maintenance: One Mechanic performs the maintenance and inspection of all municipalowned vehicles and equipment owned by the Municipality, with the exception of Police and Fire vehicles.
Equipment Replacement Schedule:
With this schedule in place we are able to replace vehicles when needed. We then sell the used equipment on an auction site. Over the past 8 years we generated $ 433,422.25 to be put back into the budget. The Municipality looks for opportunities and economy at buying some used specialty equipment – bucket truck, Athey loader( used for berming), 30 kW generator and two light plants. We did not replace but totally re-built our tandem dump truck. Due to the low mileage on it, we felt it was better to re-build it instead of buying a new one – cost savings was approx. $ 80,000. Costs are saved and specialty equipment added, improving safety for the benefit of all our residents.
Projects: Two new concrete box structures – one on Mamont Road, one on Borland
Farm Road. Community Center & Public Works Complex: A 100 % change-over to LED lighting, for significant cost savings. Administration Building: Change over to LED lighting inside the Municipal Building is done, now working on parking lot lights, for significant cost savings.
Community Center: Assisted with the interior renovations, added a new back door with handicap ramp, new office for Rep. Eli Evankovich, new kitchen for Seniors, built a new parking lot in rear, all new storm water system.
Townsend House, Sears House and Bailey House: Renovated all three houses for tenants.
Roberts Trailhead: Installed a wall, all underground utilities, kiosk, bike repair station, plantings; also provides for safe and easy access to the Heritage Trail for biking and walking.
Rt. 22 Media Sign: Prepped property with tree removal, grading, pouring of pad, utility work, landscaping. New sign is a Municipality messaging system useable for event and safety notifications.
Staymates Cabin and Barn: Built a new parking area, grubbed out under trees and cleaned up entrance to the barn.
Townsend Park: Constructed A new deck at pond, new backstop and wall at Field # 1, expanded playing field at Field # 1 from 200’ to 320’.
Chambers Park: Installed a new playground, new wall and storm water system, re-paved parking lot.
Sardis Park: The Municipality recently accepted the donation of this park. We have done extensive cleaning of area, new fence on Field # 2, started purchasing new playground equipment to be installed in the Spring of 2018.
PV Park: Under the Stewardship Plan, we are responsible for the mowing of certain fields in certain years. This Park has great trails for mountain biking, and also is a park for dogs to be off-leash.
Murrysville Community Park: Built two new pavilions, installed and paved approx. 2 miles of new walking trails, installed and landscaped new Memorial Wall and flagpoles, built a new Observation Blind in the Wetlands, converted Field # 4 from one field to three fields with concession, bathrooms and batting cages using all the fence from the old fields at Townsend and Veterans Fields, did all the earthwork and utility work for the creation of the Miracle Field. This has developed into our most active large recreational community park.
50 MURRYSVILLE