WESTFIELD – The City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to approve funding to begin the process of replacing the Department of Public Works solid waste truck fleet.
The council approved an appropriation of $93,332.14 from free cash to the DPW recycling and solid waste vehicle accounts on a positive recommendation from the Finance Committee. That money will allow the city to enter into a five-year lease agreement. with $37,416.14 for the lease of a recycling truck and $55,915.40 for a solid waste collection truck.
DPW Superintendent Jim Mulvenna appeared before the Finance Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 11 to present details of the truck fleet replacement program. Mulvenna said the city is entering a lease to own program that will replace the fleet of trash and recycling trucks over the next three years. The five-year leases are based on the cost of the vehicles and a 2.51 interest rate.
Mulvenna said that the future lease funding will be included in his departmental budget, with a $93,000 request in the 2013 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1, 2012, and for the next two fiscal year budgets. Mulvenna said that both the trash and recycling trucks are of a better design than the current vehicles and will increase efficiency.
The recycling trucks will have two compartments, one for glass, plastic and metal, while the other compartment will be for paper and cardboard recycling.
The solid waste trucks will be completely automated have better technology than the current fleet of trash trucks, which require a DPW employee to dismount the vehicle and position the rubbish container within the rotational limit of the mechanical arm. The city had been assigning two employees to trash trucks, one to drive and the other to position the trash containers, but that second position was eliminated a year ago as part of the city’s budget tightening process, meaning that the driver had to dismount at every collection stop to position the trash container.
Mulvenna said Thursday prior to the City Council meeting that the goal is to eliminate one recycling truck route. Currently two trucks, one for glass, plastic and metal and the other for paper and cardboard, are needed for recycling programs.
“The new solid waste trucks will be completely automatic so the driver stays in the vehicle and uses the mechanical arm to lift the barrels,” Mulvenna said. “It’s real difficult to jump in and out of the truck 400 times a day. We’ve been fortunate that there have been no injuries. These new trucks will be safer for the guys and faster because you eliminate that time of getting in and out.”
The city will enter into the lease program following the City Council appropriation approval, but there is a six-month lead time before the first vehicles will be received by the DPW.
Ward 5 Councilor Richard E. Onofrey Jr., chairman of the finance committee, urged support for the DPW truck appropriation, stating that the present system, which requires the operator to get in and out of the truck is “a workers’ compensation (claim) waiting to happen.”
“This begins the process of replacing the current fleet of trucks, which is between eight and 11 years old,” Onofrey said. “Replacing the existing trucks will save about $50,000 a year on maintenance. They’re using scrap metal to repair the beds of the trucks because they leak so much.”
Ward 3 Councilor Peter J. Miller Jr., said that he has witnessed the fluid left behind by the vehicles.
“The trash truck came and when it left the amount of oil on the pavement was disgusting,” Miller said.
A resident of Tiffany Circle, Thomas J. Daly, called the Westfield News to report that he witnessed a recycling truck leaking oil through his neighborhood. Daly said that he also called Mulvenna, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and the state Department of Environmental Protection about the leaking truck.
“Tuesday, the recycling truck came through the neighborhood as I was walking the dog,” Daly said. “The streets were wet and I noticed a large amount of oil going down the storm drains. There was a large pool of oil, two or three feet wide, every place the truck stopped, so I approached the driver who said the truck has been leaking oil for four months, but he was told to keep operating the vehicle.”
With the favorable vote last night, delivery of the replacement trucks should occur in a short amount of time. “I’m aware of trucks dropping small amounts of oil, and we perform repairs when needed. We will continue to perform repairs and perform cleanup activities when needed. The trucks need to continue to run until we can replace them,” Mayor Knapik said.
