Patrick Monaghan, city fleet manager, is pictured this week discussing proposed equipment and vehicle purchases for the Department of Public Works and Parks Department.

The city’s Department of Public Works and Parks Department may soon have approval for new vehicles to be paid for by American Rescue Plan funds.

Patrick Monaghan, city fleet manager, addressed members of the City Council regarding various vehicles that could be replaced in both departments. The funding needed to replace these vehicles would be about $1.26 million.

Monaghan said he has been working with the departments to create a list of vehicles and equipment that could be replaced by ARPA funding. He said each department has identified four vehicles or pieces of equipment to be replaced. These include a 2004 Chevy dump truck, a bucket truck, a 2011 John Deere tractor, an excavator, a salt spreader truck, a 1996 Ford plow truck, a street sweeper truck and a 2009 trackless utility sidewalk plow.

As an alternate, Monaghan suggested replacing a 1979 Bombardier sidewalk plow. However, Monaghan said the Bombadier is not used as often as other vehicles throughout the year.

Members of the council questioned how soon some of the items could come in once approved for purchase. Monaghan said there could be significant waits on some equipment due to the pandemic and other issues with the supply chain.

Kim Eklund, At-Large councilwoman, commented on the inclusion of the alternate equipment suggestion, asking if it was a priority. Eklund said she had received a few comments about snow removal.

“I’m not being critical of your choice — I’m just asking if this is a priority, why is it an alternate?” she asked.

Tony Dolce, Jamestown City Council president and Ward 2 councilman, agreed, adding that community members might wonder why the city focuses so much on street sweeping, for example, but not snow removal. Dolce said street sweeping wasn’t a safety issue or a security issue, whereas snow removal and plowing could be.

Eklund asked Monaghan what he felt were the top priorities for both departments.

“I definitely have my own opinion as far as what I feel are priorities as far as their conditions,” he said. “Ultimately, I tried to work as much as I could with each department and their respective managers because I respect that they know what they feel is their most pressing need. However, if you’re asking what would be the most important I would have to look toward the oldest stuff because of the obsolescence. That is my biggest concern because when it’s broken down, it’s sitting in there and we can’t get sidewalks plowed or we can’t get streets plowed we’ve got a big problem.”

Marie Carrubba, Ward 4 councilwoman, agreed that snow removal is an important issue in the city. She said her office is located on North Main Street and she has seen students in that area walk in the street because various areas are not shoveled or plowed in that area.

“This is a critical piece because I’m sure it’s also happening around other schools,” she said. “And, we have a group of senior housing across the street and they try to get across to the drug store because they can get groceries there.”

Carruba asked if any of the listed equipment could be bought, used for a few years and traded in when needed. Monaghan said that could be possible for trucks, but many vehicles cannot be due to the strain on the supply chain.

“COVID has really messed that up because we used to be able to do that with Caterpillar equipment,” he said. “We still can do that with pickup trucks, but the availability is just not what it was.”

Eklund later commented that she wanted to make sure the right equipment is purchased because she doesn’t want the city to come back to the table with additional needs or to later discover they made the wrong decisions.

“I think now’s the time that we can address this the right way, and I want to do it the right way,” she said.