Friday, August 28, 2009
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Some Park Ridge city services will stop due to the layoff of public works employees in a cost-saving move.
The public works union voted against wage concessions, leading to the layoff of four employees, one in the street and water and sewer divisions and two from the grounds division.
Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim explained he is reassigning workers to try to cover some of the shortfall, but certain services will end.
"Normally, we stop brush pickup on Nov. 15," he said. "We will stop on Sept. 11 and stop it forever."
He explained that people will still be allowed to bring brush to the service center for chipping, but the department may need to discontinue that option in the future. He added the department would have a list of companies residents can call to dispose of the brush. The city will still pick up brush after large storms or other emergency situations.
The department will also take one street sweeper out of service, reducing the number of sweeps each year.
The biggest problem, however, will be snow plowing, Zingsheim said.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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FLINT, Michigan -- Police are looking for those responsible for thousands of dollars in damage at the City of Flint storage yards on 12th Street.
The brake lines were cut and seats were slashed on the city's new Peterbilt truck and pink graffiti was sprayed on a street sweeper and trucks in the yard.
Damage in the Aug. 18 vandalism is expected to exceed $10,000.
Anyone with information is asked to call Flint police at (810) 237-6900.
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Friday, August 21, 2009
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Saugus - Town Meeting member Al DiNardo has fielded many complaints from constituents distressed over the debris cluttering local roadways.
DiNardo said the town received little return on the $35,000 it set aside for street sweeping this past fiscal year.
“If you go down to Saugus Center, the streets look unswept, that’s just unacceptable,” DiNardo said.
Town Manager Andrew Bisignani holds a vastly differing opinion on the quality of the street sweeping completed in the spring.
Bisignani said crews fanned out across town and managed to wrap up the project within about a month.
Residents praised the work on the whole and if a particular street needed more attention the contractor was sent back until all parties were satisfied, Bisignani said.
“I believe we did a very good job considering our limited resources and the horrific winter we had,” Bisignani said.
Convinced the private contractor charged with the task didn’t get the job done, DiNardo wants the town to purchase its own street sweeper to keep neighborhoods clear of debris.
DiNardo contended that buying a street sweeper for municipal use — at an estimated cost of $160,000 — is preferable to paying a second party for sweeping services.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
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A fire broke out at about 8 p.m. Saturday at the Contract Sweepers and Equipment business at 657 North Wayne Ave.
Firefighters said smoke and flames could be seen inside the building from the street.
The business sells, rents and leases street sweeping equipment. Investigators said a street sweeper caught fire somehow inside the building.
Firefighters said the flames spread quickly and extra crews had to be called in.
After dousing the flames, investigators said they believe a ruptured fuel tank may be to blame for the fire.
No one was injured. A damage estimate was not released.
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Monday, August 17, 2009
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AKELAND | Driving around Lakeland recently, you may have noticed that the city's four street sweepers have a new look.
To help educate the public about water quality, vinyl wraps have been placed on the street sweepers as a part of Lakeland's Street Sweeper Wrap Education Program.
"We're trying to build awareness," said Doug Gleckler, the city's manager of lakes and stormwater.
While street sweepers are designed to keep roads clean and prevent dirt and debris from entering and polluting the lakes, Gleckler said that residents have to do their part to protect the environment.
When sand, dirt, and pet waste are washed from the streets into the water, the excess of nutrients can be bad for the lakes.
Trash, oils, greases, and other fluids also will pollute the water.
"Anything that ends up in the streets will end up in the lakes, (and) you're actually costing the city more and the citizens more to pick up that material," he said.
The city's stormwater utility fee funds the program as well as other water quality capital improvement projects, public education outreach, and regulatory duties.
Even grass clippings and other yard debris reduce the water quality of the lakes.
That's why it's so important to keep the streets clean.
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MILLVILLE - The city may hire a second street sweeper to focus exclusively on the downtown area to supplement the work of the municipality-wide sweeper.
According to Millville Mayor Tim Shannon, speaking at Thursday's Millville Development Corporation meeting, the new employee would be paid through Urban Enterprise Zone funds.
The two custodians would be dubbed the city's "Green Team."
"This is something that we've been talking about for years - someone dedicated to just working around the downtown area, from Smith to Broad (streets)," said Shannon. "They'd work with the flower, weeds, parking lots - keeping the place bright and clean."
The idea is still in the planning stages, Shannon added. However, it's an initiative he stated he would like to see sometime in the near future.
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Friday, August 14, 2009
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BREWSTER - Brewster will spend $8500 to fix problems with the clutch and brakes on the town street sweeper. Earlier this spring the town spent $18,000 on the engine. The sweeper is eight years old and DPW Superintendent Bob Bersin said the expected life is five years.
“Like any piece of equipment there comes a time when repairs cost more than a new one,” he noted.
A new street sweeper would cost $150,000.
“The predominance of roads are private roads,” selectman James Foley noted. “We need to look at what we sweep and how often. I think we need to break out the private roads and offer an alternative service.”
“The big issue is people are already calling us because we haven’t swept their roads,” observed town administrator Charles Sumner. “It’s good public policy to sweep those roads because we’re applying this sand.”
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A request to consider leasing a new street sweeper for Beatrice’s street department led to concern from members of the Beatrice Board of Public Works Wednesday.
Ron Baete, street department superintendent, said the 2001 Johnston sweeper the city now owns has been breaking down on a regular basis. The sweeper has cost the city nearly $80,000 in repairs over the last seven years, Baete said.
Under a 4-year lease agreement, Baete estimates a new sweeper would cost from $50,000 to $55,000 a year, with a 4-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.
To purchase the same equipment with the same warranty, Baete estimated it would cost around $250,000.
During discussion, board member Ron Sutter asked Baette how the street department planned to pay for the new sweeper.
Baete said the cost of the lease had been figured into the 2009 budget. The department’s proposed budget for 2009-2010, which was approved by the board later in the meeting, estimates the street department will begin the new budget year with $184,571 cash balance.
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Thursday, August 6, 2009
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Riverton » In this south valley town of 38,000, City Hall staffers now take out their own trash and vacuum their own offices --- office workers even shovel the walks in the winter.
Stretching a municipal budget in these troubled economic times is tough --- and necessary.
In Riverton, during the past year, 15 staff positions have been eliminated. That's an even 15 percent reduction as the city's workforce was slashed from 100 employees to 85.
The cuts came as the town's budget shrank 20 percent during the two-year period from $10.8 million in fiscal year 2006-07 to $8.8 million in fiscal year 2008-09 that ended June 30.
Remaining employees are taking on more responsibilities to keep the city from cutting services, said Mayor Bill Applegarth.
"Our employees are working their hearts out," Applegarth said.
In some cases, the city has contracted for services to save money, according to City Manager Lance Blackwood.
Eight full-time parks employees were laid off. Maintenance of Riverton parks and open space has been taken over by a private firm. The contract saves the city about $200,000 a year.
"I don't think the parks have looked better," Blackwood said. "But the casualties were the employees [who were let go]. It was real tough."
In other cases, employees are taking on expanded roles, Blackwood said.
For example, Riverton used to have a Public Works Department director and a City Engineer. The Public Works director was laid off and now the City Engineer takes on the responsibilities of both positions.
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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WATSONVILLE - Traffic was delayed on Riverside Drive near Vanoni Road Tuesday afternoon after a big rig collided with a tractor, the California Highway Patrol reported.
No one was seriously hurt in the 1:10 p.m. crash, but a plow became dislodged from the tractor and came to rest across the road, and a street sweeper was summoned because a large amount of debris was spread across the highway after the two vehicles collided, Officer Tracy Thompson said.
At least one other vehicle, a Toyota sedan, sustained damage after being struck with debris from the big rig, Thompson said.
Officers used the highway shoulder to reroute traffic and all lanes were open by about 2:10 p.m., he said.
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Lockland Police found a missing street sweeper and made an arrest Sunday morning.
According to court records, 46-year-old Gregory Shanks took a sweeper truck from his employer, Contract Sweepers and Equipment in Lockland on Thursday morning but never returned the truck.
Police found the missing sweeper parked at Shanks’ apartment complex on Reading Road in Reading and arrested Shanks.
Shanks is charged with grand theft and will arraigned Monday morning.
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A man crossing a Tarzana street was fatally struck by a privately owned street sweeper, authorities said today.
The accident at Ventura and Reseda boulevards was reported about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.
The man, who appeared to be about 70, was crossing the street outside a crosswalk when he was hit by a street sweeper used to wipe down small parking lots nearby, officials said.
The victim, who had no identification on him, died at the scene.
Police said an initial investigation indicated the incident was accidental. The unidentified driver remained at the scene and was not cited.
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