The Brighton City Council recently voted to approve about $500,000 worth of equipment purchases for the Department of Public Works over a 5-year period.

DPW Director Marcel Goch says much of the equipment the city now has is getting old, and at times the cost of maintaining the equipment exceeds the cost of buying replacement items. The purchases will be paid for in installments of $100,000 per year through the vehicle and equipment capital funding budget.

Goch says the purchases will enable the DPW to reduce the number of salting and snow plowing trucks by two because they will be buying two hook lift-style trucks, which can quickly be switched from salt trucks to dump beds. In addition, the trucks will have side plows, which will make it more efficient on wide roads such as Grand River and Challis Road.

Goch says the city will sell the oldest of the plow trucks and dump trucks and use the proceeds for additional equipment buys. Included in the purchases will be an asphalt roller, which the city has not had in the past. It has meant delays in fixing the problem since the DPW had to wait for contractors to schedule in the work when they were able.

Finally, the DPW will be getting a combination sidewalk plow and grass mower to replace machinery which was inadequate for plowing and mowing in a town the size of Brighton. Goch says the purchases will allow for more efficient operations and will reduce long-term maintenance costs. (TT)