Pine Supervisors Reject Bids for Wind Turbine

Pine Township supervisors were clearly not blown away by initial offers for the wind turbine generator that sits atop a hill overlooking the Pine Community Center.

Supervisors voted 5-0 Monday to reject all four bids for the turbine and re-advertise for new ones. The highest bid was $11,100, according to Assistant Township Manager Scott D. Anderson.

“We were a little disappointed,” he said.

The windmill was erected as an energy-saving initiative in 2005, with high hopes that it would generate power for the community center and other township buildings, but there is rarely enough wind to spin the windmill. 

A consultant advised the township the 120-foot structure needed to be taller, but given the cost of making that adjustment, Pine Supervisors decided in January to sell it instead. 

The township has about $160,000 invested in the windmill, with $62,500 paid through a state grant. Anderson said the money the township spent to prepare the site will never be recovered. 

Supervisors also voted unanimously to pay for physical examinations of members and prospective members of the Wexford Volunteer Fire Co. The township’s insurance carrier requested the examinations every two years at a cost of approximately $100 for each of the more than 30 volunteer firefighters. 

Looking ahead to winter, the supervisors voted 5-0 to purchase a new, $190,000 snow plow and  to advertise for bids for construction of an 80-foot-by-168-foot salt storage building to replace the current structure behind the township municipal building on Pearce Mill Road.

Supervisors will also hold a public hearing on a proposal to raise the annual salary of township supervisors from $2,500 to $3,250.  According to Township Manager Cheryl N. Fischer, Pennsylvania’s second class township code allows for the increase when a township’s population exceeds 10,000. The latest census figures indicate 10,497 people now reside in Pine Township.