ShawneeDispatch.com

How many streets could a street sweeper sweep if a street sweeper could sweep streets?

That is the question members of the Shawnee City Council looked into Tuesday at the Public Works & Safety Committee meeting. They were to discuss the city's street sweeping costs, trying to determine how the city could save money in the Public Works Department's street sweeping program.

The issue is just another example of the Council's desire to examine all areas to make sure things are done as economically and efficiently as possible in the face of last year's budget crunch.

The street sweeping program was getting a closer look at the request of the committee, particularly of Council member Neal Sawyer, after it was first discussed Jan. 16. During the 2007 budget process, the city had approved the purchase of a new street sweeper and hiring a new operator for the sweeper, which at the time was presented as something that would save money because the city would have to contract out less street sweeping.

But Sawyer criticized the city staff for planning to sweep only certain hours of the day and suggested the city look at using its current sweeper as much as possible rather than buying a new one, and other Council members agreed. So Tuesday, the committee was scheduled to look at a point-by-point analysis of the street sweeping program.

The city has swept streets for 30 years to keep the streets free of trash and debris, a task required by the federal government under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System to keep pollutants from waterways. The city maintains more than 740 lane miles of public streets.

The city currently owns a street sweeper that cleans mainly larger roads monthly, outside of winter months, and it contracts with other companies to sweep residential streets three times a year. Federal government guidelines require that the city increase its sweeping efforts, so beginning this year, residential streets will be cleaned four times a year.

The current sweeper often is down for maintenance or repair, Ron Freyermuth, public works director, told the committee in January. By buying a new sweeper and hiring a new operator, Freyermuth said the city would save roughly $60,000 over a five-year period.

But Sawyer noted that Lenexa runs its street sweepers overnight. He suggested city staff look at maintenance costs, running the sweepers overnight, and the per-mile cost for both in house and contracted sweeping, factoring in the cost of paying the operator.

In information provided to the committee for Tuesday's scheduled discussion, city staff calculated that it cost the city $63 per mile for contract sweeping and $47.33 per mile for sweeping with the city's sweeper in 2006. Average annual maintenance costs for the current street sweeper amount to about $13,000.

While the city could sweep at night -- it already runs special night shifts for snow plows in the winter -- the city has not had other night shifts in the past because of safety concerns and noise concerns for the public, as well as having no supervising staff available.

The staff compared the options of having just one sweeper, adding an operator and running two shifts, to purchasing an additional sweeper and running one shift with two street sweepers and two operators.

The first option would save the city $39,647 over 10 years. However, there could be safety concerns about having an employee work alone at night, and residents may be concerned about noise. Also, if the sweeper breaks down at night, no mechanics would be on duty to fix it.

The second option's pros and cons were basically the opposite of the first option -- no overnight concerns, but additional cost to the city. Still, city staff recommended to the committee that they approve the first option as a pilot program until the end of this year.

The committee also was to discuss an ordinance prohibiting parking in front of mailboxes in the city. Both items will move on to the full Council for final approval.