Paterson buying four street sweepers for $1.1 million
By Jayed Rahman
Published: October 4, 2018
The city is lease-purchasing four more Tymco street sweepers, bringing the fleet of sweepers to eight, to replace the rest of its ill-conceived purchase of seven European machines four years ago.
Public works director William “Billy” Rodriguez said the four new Tymco Model 600 regenerative air sweepers will be received in 60-120 days.
The city is paying $965,120 for the four machines and $216,485 in interest payments over a five-year period. Total cost for the machines is $1,082,425. Interest is calculated at 5.1-percent, according to municipal records. City will pay $216,485 per year.
Rodriguez said the city will sell its seven RAVO 5-Series machines. He said funds from the sale will be used to pay down the debt on the latest purchase. He said the city is selling the machines back to Northeast Sweepers. He said the company hasn’t said how much it will pay for the machines, but is expected to inspect the six of the seven machines. The seventh machine has been in the company’s yard for years due to an engine problem.
Rodriguez said some neighboring towns have expressed interest in buying the smaller Ravo machines. He said the city will sell to the whomever is offering the highest price.
The Ravo machines suffered from constant breakdown. Over the summer, the city failed sweep some streets due to machine breakdowns.
City resident Patricia McNeil, who lives in the 1st Ward, complained public works had failed to sweep her block for weeks.
“We all know we have a lot of issues with street cleaning,” said Rodriguez on Tuesday. He said with eight Tymco machines the city will be able to provide consistent service to residents.
Rodriguez said the four Tymco machines purchased last year have been operating flawlessly. He said the machines only required regular maintenance.
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