Street Sweeper

we can contract out street sweeping but apparently not other functions.  ???

jag123 wrote: Did anyone notice in the City Manager's Upate to Council, that she is for spending more money on contracting street sweeping, rather than the lower cost of buying a new sweeper? I thought we were trying to save money.

Actually, this is probably a smart move.

Operating equipment such as street sweepers on the third-world, bombed-out streets of our city must lead to high breakdown rates and excessive maintenance costs!!!   

Thickness issues along with certain parts pitched wrong for proper drainage. What was the city rep. doing during this process last fall other than sitting in his truck.

Whoops, another "missed opportunity" to save some city taxpayer money....

Journal story...

Street sweeping may cost $38K more
City delayed purchase of a sweeper.

MIDDLETOWN — Hesitation over the purchase of a new city street sweeper could end up costing taxpayers nearly $38,000

At an April 19 meeting, the four City Council members in attendance — Bill Becker, A.J. Smith, Dan Picard and Tom Allen — voted to table the purchase of a new $ 170,793 street sweeper due to budget concerns. At the time the city was looking at a $3.7 million deficit and did not have options for how to fill that gap.

ATTA BOYS! Three options here. Buy new and spend money the city doesn't have. Buy a used one from another city and rehab it at a potential lower cost than buying new. Or, have the broken parts machined to repair the broken street sweeper currently owned by the city, certainly less expensive than buying new.

The city budgeted $172,000 to buy the new sweeper, meant to replace one of two vehicles that was out of service for much of last year due to mechanical issues, said Public Works Director Dave Duritsch.

CAN'T FIND ANYONE TO MACHINE SOME NEW PARTS? CAN'T GET ON THE INTERNET AND LOCATE THE SAME MODELS AND STRIP SOME NEEDED PARTS OFF THE ONES IN THE "JUNKYARD"? MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE ON A TIGHT BUDGET FIX UP THEIR VEHICLES RATHER THAN BUYING NEW. PROBABLY WON'T COST THE $172,000 THAT YOU WERE ORIGINALLY PLANNING ON SPENDING, RIGHT?

We continue to live in the world of Oz. City uses street sweeper and streets as a political crutch. No street sweeper because of upcominf vote on taking back tax rate, so the street sweeper is held "hostage" although it is federally mandaed by EPA, other fed entities associated with storms. In reality, liquidation of the sweepers owned, the personnel (FTE's) that drive them, and the non expenditure of capital would cost less by outsourcing to West Chester, than buying a new one, buying a used one, or buying a salage one for retrofit parts. Maybe they could get the guy that cleans Kroger's lot to do it cheaper or Superior Blacktop would buy one and do it for $16.20 per mile.