First Posted: 3/4/2012
The board of supervisors voted to approve a cooperative agreement between the police department and Carfax Inc., a vehicular information company, to streamline vehicular accident reports at a special meeting Monday.
Tyrone Parker, a Carfax spokesperson, told supervisors Carfax would handle the reports through a website at no cost to the township, which would make them available to the public and insurance companies at any time and would cut down on administrative work for police officers.
Parker also said officers would have access to investigative tools through the website to learn more about stolen vehicles and other common vehicular crimes.
He said the reason Carfax wanted to work with law enforcement officers on the municipal level is because the company currently only receives crash information from the state, and the added reports would benefit the company’s vehicular history data.
Police Chief James Balavage felt the removal of administrative work in the police department would increase the amount of time officers would be available to patrol.
Currently, it costs $15 to obtain a police report. Parker said the police department would still receive $15 from each report purchased on the website, and Carfax would charge $5 per report as a convenience fee. Citizens would still have the option to purchase an accident report in person.
Supervisors awarded a bid to Brdaric Excavating of Swoyersville to stabilize a stretch of Toby Creek along Carverton Road.
Township Manager Kathleen Sebastian said the streambed behind a building owned by the township on Carverton Road has eroded so much through the years that the walls are cracking and part of the creek flows underneath the building.
She said the Luzerne County Conservation District offered the township a grant from leftover federal monies to complete the project.
“That was one of the areas I suggested because we’re losing our building,” said Sebastian.
The bid was awarded to Brdaric Excavating in the amount of $61,424. Though the conservation district only offered the township $47,500, Sebastian announced at the meeting that the organization would provide the rest of the money for the project.
The lowest monetary bidder was Napcon Inc. of Wilkes-Barre in the amount of $41,260, but Sebastian said Brdaric was the “lowest responsible bidder” in accordance with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Luzerne County Conservation District.
In other news, the board…
• Tabled a motion to award a request for proposal for a line of credit and draw option tax anticipation note for up to $1 million to PNC Bank.
• Authorized the purchase of a copy machine for the police department from Topp Copy, Inc. in the amount of $2,513.
• Authorized the township manager to advertise bids for Dumpsters for the 2012 Spring Clean Up program.
• Changed the named of Rinehimer Lane to Black Bear Lane in accordance with the Luzerne County 911 Re-addressing Project. Sebastian said a Dallas Borough police officer with the last name of Rinehimer and who resides on the street requested the change because he didn’t want the street named after him.
• Approved a personal donation of $100 from Chairman James Reino Jr. to the Luzerne County Conservation District for a full-page advertisement for Kingston Township in the organization’s annual banquet program. Reino said the board cut donations to other organizations this year, so he offered a personal donation.
• The board’s next work session will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12 and the next regular meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 14 in the municipal building.
Currently, it costs $15 to obtain a police report. Parker said the police department would still receive $15 from each report purchased on the website, and Carfax would charge $5 per report as a convenience fee. Citizens would still have the option to purchase an accident report in person.
