Township Committee Accepts Loan For New Street Sweeper

Although hesitant to spend the money, the township committee agreed to purchase a new street sweeper for the Public Works department.

The township had applied for a grant but received a loan of up to $326,000. The new sweeper is priced at $225,000.

Under storm water management regulations, the township is required to sweep streets at least once a week depending on the volume of traffic on streets, Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh said.

“[Casey Parker] is in need of a new sweeper because his old one has seen better days,” Laureigh said.

Public Works has two sweepers, a 1987 and a 1997. The sweepers are used daily to clean Lacey’s 173 miles of streets, Laureigh said.

The money would be provided upfront and the township would start to make payments during the summer of 2012, with a 1 to 1.3 percent interest rate.

“The state has mandated that we have to adhere to storm water management changes that went into play. So Casey uses his equipment very frequently to try to keep the streets clean and go according to special occasions. So the state is saying now, we’ll give you this piece of equipment but you have to pay us back,” Mayor Gary Quinn explained.

The mandate is under the Environmental Infrastructure’s Trust Program, which is focusing on the Barnegat Bay watershed area due to the push to restore the bay.

This year they put $10 million into the Barnegat Bay Watershed Project, which is not guaranteed for next year, Laureigh said.

If the township did not move forward on this loan, they may have to bond for it in the future when the sweeper breaks down, Quinn said.

“Part of me wants to say let’s hold it off, however if this breaks down tomorrow, then we’re faced with a real problem,” Committeeman Sean Sharkey said.

“I feel, my personal opinion is maybe this is something we should move forward with simply because part of the worst case scenario is if this machine breaks down tomorrow, then we’re stuck with the entire bill, 5 percent down, plus whatever interest we decide that we can get,” Sharkey said.

The committee voted 4:1 to purchase the new sweeper with Committeewoman Helen DelaCruz in opposition.

“I’ll take the gamble,” DelaCruz said.