Politics & Government

Upper Milford to Spend $186,500 on new Street Sweeper

Supervisors approve purchase by 2-1 vote at Thursday night's Board of Supervisors meeting.

The Board of Supervisors Thursday night approved by a 2-1 vote the purchase of a new street sweeper for Upper Milford Township. The sweeper, which will replace the township’s current 10-year-old sweeper, will be bought under a State Co-Start contract for $186,500.

Township Supervisor George DeVault voted against buying the new piece of equipment.

“Maybe it’s because I am new to all of this,” DeVault said, “but I think we need to do a little more research before we run out and spend so much money on a big ticket item.”

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The street sweeper purchase was on last night’s agendas for both the Board of Supervisors workshop and regular meetings, and the topic triggered a lot of discussion during the public comment portion of both meetings.

Upper Milford resident Phil Casey, of Main Road East, questioned just why Upper Milford Township needs a street sweeper in the first place. “How many other rural communities like Upper Milford Township have street sweepers?” he asked.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Former Upper Milford Supervisor Steven Ackerman, who is the township’s public works coordinator and was in attendance at last night’s meeting, described the street sweeper as “one of the most used pieces of equipment I’ve got.

“The sweeper is used 12 months per year,” he said. “It’s out there for every road project, after every storm, after every chip and oil project.”

There are about 2,800 hours on the current sweeper’s usage clock, according to Ackerman. That makes the vehicle’s average yearly on-road time about 280 hours a year for the 10-year period the township has owned it.

Casey questioned whether the township could save money by hiring a firm to sweep the streets or renting a sweeper.

Upper Milford Township Manager Dan DeLong said that the township is required under federal law to sweep the streets. “We could buy 10,000 brooms and hire 300 people,” he said.

The township could sell its current sweeper for about $35,000. DeLong said similar sweepers are currently being listed in that price range in online ads.

The purchase of the street sweeper is funded by the Pennsylvania Liquid Fuels Tax and is included in Upper Milford's 2012 budget.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Emmaus