The ordinance would let the city of Hermitage provide public-works services to the borough of Wheatland. These services could include street sweeping, patching potholes, trimming trees or plowing snow on an as-needed basis, according to the ordinance.
Both municipalities still have to approve the agreement, with Hermitage scheduled to have a final vote Nov. 21.
“We think it will be a win-win deal for both communities,” Hermitage City Manager Gary Hinkson said.
In the past, Wheatland provided its own public-works services through two employees. But during a six-month period earlier this year, one employee resigned while the second received a position elsewhere, leaving the borough without any public-works employees, Mayor David Jones said.
“At this point we don’t have any public-works employees,” Jones said.
The borough looked at several options, one of which would involve purchasing their public-works services from the Hermitage. The borough is still able to perform some duties such as cutting grass, but such an agreement with Hermitage would take care of some of the “heavy lifting” like street sweeping or snow plowing and ease the burden on the borough, said Dan Morsillo, president of the Wheatland council.
“The snow plows have to go through Wheatland to get to parts of Hermitage already,” he said.
The agreement is still in the very early stages of discussion and certain aspects are subject to change, but Morsillo added Wheatland and Hermitage already have a good relationship through the two communities’ 2015 agreement to share the Hermitage Police Department.
“I think this could really be beneficial to both communities,” said William Moder III, president of the Hermitage Board of Commissioners.