The City of Madison has always contracted out street sweeping services, but that practice may be about to end if the council decides it is time to purchase its own sweeper.
According to city manager John Klimm, the city has been getting inconsistent service from contractors in recent years, and citizens have started to complain about it, even as the price of street sweeping services has continued to rise.
“The need for a sweeping program in Madison is great, especially this time of year with all the leaves we have falling, to keep our curbs and gutters clean and free of debris so that stormwater can travel to the conveyance system properly,” new public works director Shawn Wood, who joined the city last month, said.
Wood said the city could purchase a sweeper for $298,000 with Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) revenue. The sweeper would have brooms capable of cleaning the curbs and streets.
“The plan is to sweep in all five districts once a week,” Wood said. “That way, every district gets the same amount of sweeping time.”
Klimm said the city had considered purchasing a used sweeper, but he recommended against it.
“With the amount of money we’re spending, both [Wood] and I agree we’re better off buying new,” Klimm said.
According to Madison’s finance officer Karen Stapp, the city has always contracted out street sweeping services.
“It was typically done about four times a year, every quarter,” Stapp said. “In the past five years, we have upped it to five times a year, twice in the heavy months of the fall.”
Stapp said the most recent contractor wanted the city to sweep the streets more often, but the price of the service kept increasing.
“We were getting to the point [that] just for a handful of times a year, the cost was getting over $50,000,” Stapp said. “We haven’t done a lot of sweeping this year because of that. When [Wood] came on board, the subject came up and we decided to take this approach instead of continuing to contract out the service.”
Wood said his plan would provide service on every street in Madison at least twice a year.
“There will be a full-time employee on that sweeper every day,” Wood said. “There will be times when [the sweeper] is down for service and routine maintenance, but the plan is to keep this a full-time operation.”
Wood said the equipment under consideration is a smaller unit that can maneuver around downtown traffic, parked cars, and tight spots. It will also have enough capacity to stay out collecting debris for half a day.
The consent agenda will include consideration of purchasing the sweeper. A decision should be made at the Dec. 9 regular council meeting.
Klimm also told the council that the city has contacted District Engineer Corbett Reynolds of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) regarding traffic issues in Madison.
City engineer Aaron Wadley wrote a letter informing GDOT that Madison is experiencing peak and off-peak congestion at the downtown traffic lights on Main Street. The daily average of 15,000 vehicles represents a 33-percent increase over the last two years.
As a result, the city has requested a study of synchronizing the two traffic signals to improve timing and the possibility of a protected turn signal light to help motorists negotiate left turns onto South Main Street from East Washington Street.