The Kilbuck Township Supervisors awarded a contract for winter road service at their meeting Tuesday, and may do so again next month.

The township had solicited bids for road plowing and salting for each of the next three years, and originally announced that the contract would be awarded at the supervisors' September meeting. Supervisor John Fader was absent from that meeting, however, and Russ Hardiman and Susan Merkner could not agree on whether the contract should be for one or three years, so the vote was delayed until the Oct. 27 meeting.

Prior to the meeting, however, the township placed a legal advertisement stating that a contract would be awarded for the 2009-10 season, without mentioning the additional years.

Merkner pointed out the discrepancy at Tuesday's meeting, and argued that the supervisors should vote only on a one-year contract in accordance with the advertisement.

Solicitor Chuck Means said that there were two ways the supervisors could have handled the delay in the vote, either by advertisement or announcing at the September meeting that the contract would be awarded in October. That announcement was made in September, he said.

He suggested voting on all three years of the contract, then possibly advertising the supervisors' intent to vote again in November on the final two years.

"It doesn't look right," Merkner argued, stating that in the past the township had obtained competitive bids annually, but now was awarding a three-year contract to a company owned by the only candidate on the Nov. 3 election ballot for the vacant seat on the board.

Diamond Landscaping, owned by Tom Tomaro, was the low bidder for each of the three years.

The supervisors voted unanimously to award the 2009-10 contract to Diamond, which will perform the work for $92.50 per hour with a three-hour call-out minimum.

The vote was 2-1, with Merkner opposed, to award Diamond the contract for the next two winters, at hourly rates of $95.28 and $98.14.

The supervisors then voted 2-1 to advertise their intention to vote on the contracts again at their November meeting.

"And that isn't putting the cart before the horse?" Merkner commented in voting against the motion.