The Jackson Township Supervisors held a special meeting at 8:00 a.m. at the Jackson Township Municipal Building. Members present were Supervisors David Bracken, Bob Stephens and Bruce Baker along with Secretary-Treasurer / Manager Dave Hirko. The meeting was called to order by David Bracken, Chairman, with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Board Roll Call was taken with all three Supervisors present.

Public Comments Concerning Agenda Items:
(None)

New Business:
Supervisor Bracken said the purpose of this meeting was to go over the road projects scheduled for 2003. Manager Hirko summarized that the bidders were qualified according to Bob Mills of PennDOT. Little was known about Derry Construction, one of the bidders, but their bid was the highest of the five paving bids received. He went on to say that the accumulated costs of materials and labor we would incur is more than what the professional paving contractors charge. He said Jackson was one of only two municipalities in Bob Mills district of 87 that still did their own paving. He added that contractors assume the liability, can do single-pass paving, have greater compaction of pavement, have the proper equipment and safety signs as well as offering a one year guarantee on their paving. Bracken added that we would need a vibrator roller and to purchase "tac coat" to do the paving properly. Hirko mentioned that it was getting harder each year to meet the more stringent requirements for paving in order to qualify for State Liquid Fuels Funds and that the professional paving companies were better equipped to keep up with the new requirements. Supervisor Stephens asked how long it had been since we contracted out paving. No one could recall paving being contracted out before in Jackson Township. Stephens asked if the paving contracts would be affected by the Supervisors passing a resolution to enter into an Inter-Municipal Agreement with Nanty Glo Borough to pave Loraine Street in Nanty Glo. Hirko stated that we didn’t enter into the agreement being that Nanty Glo did not pass a similar resolution to do so, but it was well received by the Borough Council. He went on to say that Tom Kupchella of the Nanty Glo Borough Council said the Borough wanted to patch the potholes and "tar and chip" that portion of road this year. Supervisor Baker noted that Loraine Street would not impact the Township Road Projects being addressed at the meeting. He went on to say that the bottom line is a professional contractor can put the paving "in place" for less cost than we can. Hirko said that our road crew is more cost-effective on small road maintenance projects whereas the professional paving companies are cost-effective on the larger ones.

Motion Bracken, second Baker to award bid for paving to Grannas Brothers for Road Projects scheduled for 2003. Vote-3 yes.

Motion Baker, second Stephens to award bid for "seal coat" to Russell Standard for Road Projects scheduled for 2003. Vote-3 yes.

Public Comments:
(None)

Announcements:
An announcement was made that the next Supervisors Meeting would be held on Thursday, June 26, 2003 at 7:00 pm at the Jackson Township Municipal Building.

Adjournment:
Motion Baker, second Stephens to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 am. Vote-3 yes.

Respectfully submitted,
David M. Hirko, Secretary