Tree trimming will continue in the City of Wayne following the repair of the truck necessary for the work.
Department of Public Works Director Ed Queen told members of the Wayne City Council that the 23-year-old truck needed a $7,000 repair recently but was now back in service, after leaving an employee “up in the air” when the transmission on the lift device failed.
“This is a 1997 High Ranger tree trimmer truck,” he told members of the city council at a recent meeting.
“It went out leaving an employee about 10-feet in the air. We had to use another truck with a lift to get him back down. The stabilizers were down because the transmission failed,” he said.
He said the truck is inspected annually and that “down the road” the city would have to consider the purchase of a new vehicle, which could cost as much as $180,000.
“That's not a current request,” Queen said. “We're still safe at this point, but it will have to be considered.”
Council member Kelly Skiff asked if the request for the repair payment was for “something that was already done” and if the repair had been completed without any other bids for the service. Queen explained that this was an emergency repair and that the vendor used was one already approved by the city which performed repairs on several large trucks in the city.
“It was an emergency repair and we use what we know works for us. This company does the fire trucks,” he responded. “We don't have time to wait for the long process of bidding.”
He noted, too, that some tree work in the city is outsourced to contractors but that as this time, they are all as busy as his department workers.
City Manager Lisa Nocerini explained that the administration has the ability to use the emergency process for repairs of this nature as they have done in the past.
Council approved the $7,000 payment from the general fund by a unanimous vote.
