New snow plow trucks on order

by Dan Holland

Feb. 21 city council meeting

In the midst of a snowy winter season, Broadview Heights City Council approved the purchase of two snow plow trucks. The new models will replace a 2003 tandem-axle plow truck and a 2004 ten-ton single-axle plow truck.

“The trucks take a beating during the winter storms; they’re both close to 20 years old, and it’s come to a point to where we’re putting a lot of money into them,” explained Service Director David Schroedel. “Actually, the tandem-axle truck is on the vintage part list now, so we’re having trouble even getting parts to fix it.”

The purchase involves a two step-process in which both truck chassis, made by International, will be purchased from Rush Truck Centers at a cost of $99,077 for the tandem-axle model and $90,366 for the single-axle vehicle. A separate agreement with Judco Truck Equipment for a “build-out” will include an assembling of the dump body, snow plow, snow plow hitch, electrical system, hydraulic system and miscellaneous parts to the chassis of each truck at a cost of $110,530 for the tandem-axle model and $89,594 for the single-axle model.

The two older trucks may still need be utilized next winter due to a backlog on new vehicle orders, according to Schroedel.

“Unfortunately, there’s always a long lee time for them, and right now, we could be looking at two years to take delivery,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s not the case, but we’re prepared for that. I think we’ll still be using the two older trucks for the winter season coming up, and we hope to have the new trucks in prior to the following winter.”

Council also approved the purchase of a camera truck for use by the city’s service department from Best Equipment at a total cost of $341,734. The truck will replace a 1996 model containing a camera from 2006 used in sewer line access viewing, according to Schroedel.

“The camera truck will give us the ability to do lateral launches, so that when we have the camera in a main sewer, we can launch up a lateral heading towards the house,” he explained. “We only have drawings of where cleanouts are for about 40% of homes, so what that means is that when we need to find a cleanout [cap], we are literally digging up people’s yards with an excavator looking for the cleanout; sometimes we just can’t find it. With this lateral launch, it will allow us to see if there is a problem first of all in the lateral, and also find out where that cleanout is, which should save us a significant amount of time and effort.”

In other action, council:

  • Passed a resolution to accept a grant from the Ohio Law Enforcement Body Armor Program in the amount of $9,035.
  • Authorized the purchase police vehicle equipment from Fallsway Equipment Co., at a cost of $30,774.
  • Approved a resolution for the purchase of Lifepak automated external defibrillator (AED) units from Stryker Medical for use by the city’s police department at a cost of $25,806.
  • Passed a resolution for the purchase of six traffic-monitoring cameras from the Flock Group Inc., for use by the city’s police department at a total cost of $16,500. Police Chief Steven Raiff stressed that the cameras will be used only for automatic license plate detection; not for the issuance of tickets for moving violations.
  • Approved purchase of aerial drones and related equipment for the use of the city’s safety forces from DSLR Pros at a cost of $15,025.
  • Authorized payment of $32,519 to the Parma Municipal Court District for court costs.
  • Passed a resolution to enter into an agreement with The Employee Assistance Group at a cost of $4,776 annually.
  • Passed a resolution with Konica Minolta for the purchase of two copiers at a total cost of $10,178.
  • Passed an ordinance providing for approved appropriations for current expenses and other expenditures for the city through Dec. 31, 2022. ∞