I do believe I will have to watch the board of selectmen meeting for September 11, 2017 again. I distinctly heard the interim town administrator comment on using sand in the winter time and it is actually cheaper to use salt. It actually save taxpayer dollars in the long run.
A stated approximate cost of $250,000.00 for a storage building or structure was given as the deterrent at present. Could that be a logical and common sense use for that elusive free cash the selectmen and auditors keep talking about? Perhaps if that money ever comes to fruition? I hope the Capital planning committee has that on their radar. I mean it seems the move would be cheaper in the long run and more efficient and that would equate to saving taxpayer dollars.
What a concept, use a deicing product that unlike sand, actually melts snow and ice and is cheaper to use when you consider total costs.
On that note, I think I will have a cold adult beverage.
But I do need to watch that meeting again as there was a LOT to take in!
It does seem like the end goal does appear to be a sandless mix. When ask the TA and I believe Alan stated that the new sanders were capable of spreading either method.
ReplyDeleteIt appears we need a shed. Seems like a good time to add up the cost associated with sand cleanup, sand and equipment costs associated with sand alone and see what the annual costs come to. This would have the added benefit of allowing our DPW staff additional man hours in the spring when not sweeping.
It's hard for me to see how it is not in the towns best interest to look at this near term as a cost saving measure, but lets make sure and compare the numbers. That should dictate which coarse we take.
Ask Dave when 2017 street sweeping was finally completed. If he's honest, he'll admit it was late summer! It's going to be hard to get rid of sand because the highway crew spends a very high percentage of their time, money and repairs on sand related work. All those hours translate into income.
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