RIPLEY — After more than a year of searching, Ripley Town Board members approved the issuance of a $90,000 bond in order to acquire a new dump truck.

The vehicle, a 2022 Ford F-550 with a Unicell dump bed, will be purchased from Champion Ford, Town Supervisor Doug Bowen told the board. The town has been searching for a dump truck since 2021 when the board learned that the original purchase was terminated, Bowen said.

The town was advised by Champion Ford that it had a dump truck with the required specifications but it would only be available for a limited time. Because the dump truck that is currently being used by the Water and Sewer Department will not pass inspection at the end of July, the town was able to designate the purchase as an emergency acquisition.

“The bond issuance will be subject to review by the town attorney,” Bowen said.

In a related matter, the board approved a proposal to purchase two commercial mowers from LandPro.

Bowen made a motion, after sharing the recommendation from Water and Sewer Superintendent Andrew Strine, adding that the mowers will be used to care for 38 acres of land tha tht town is responsible to maintain.

In other business, the board authorized Ingalls Planning and Design to submit the grant application for the zoning law update. The application will be submitted through the 2022 Consolidated Funding round.

In addition, board members committed the town to pay a local share, not to exceed $8,000. The local share will be included in the town’s 2023 budget, Bowen said.

Town Attorney Ben Wisniewski told board members that residents are invited to attend a public comment meeting regarding the South Ripley Solar Project, which will be held at 5 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Meeder’s Restaurant.

Interested parties can also submit written comments online by Aug. 26 at ores.ny.gov, Wisniewski said. The other option is to draft an email and send it to gneral@ores.ny.gov, he added.

In another matter, the board expressed its commitment to continue safe COVID-19 procedures. The meeting, which was held using social distancing, was also zoomed for interested parties.

In correspondence, a grant award letter for the summer recreation program was shared, as well as the second public hearing notice for the Main Street sewer replacement program.