JACKSON — Department of Public Works Superintendent Fred Rasiewicz encouraged the members of the Jackson Township Council to authorize contracts for the purchase of new heavy equipment at a meeting on Nov. 24, but the head of the DPW will have to wait a bit longer for that equipment.
The $200,000 to be spent would replace aging equipment, including a backhoe from 1989 that “smokes profusely, fumes in the cab” and has a worn-out hydraulic system in need of repair, he said.
The money for these purchases was already allocated in the 2008 capital budget and has since been appropriated specifically for this purpose.
However, Councilman Kenneth Bressi said he believed the money could be better allocated toward paying down the town’s debt.
“I just thought that before we spend $200,000,” Bressi said, “we could look at this a little further to see where the shared services are and what we can depict from this as actually needed.”
Shared services, which allows towns to borrow heavy equipment from one another, works, but only when there is a mutual benefit, Rasiewicz said.
As he explained to the council, “I borrow from [other towns] quite a bit, but when they come to me, I have nothing really to offer.”
“To me, the most compelling argument is that the money is there and it was designed for this equipment,” council Vice President Bobbie Rivere said.
“Mr. Rasiewicz did prove to us that he needs the equipment and that [what he has] is in bad shape, so for the health, safety and welfare of residents and employees, we definitely need to keep good equipment,” Councilwoman Ann Updegrave said, but she also mentioned that she was not opposed to discussing the expenditure further and seconded the motion to table the resolutions.
The council met on Dec. 8 and may have reconsidered the DPW equipment purchase at that time.
Also at the Nov. 24 council meeting, the council members unanimously adopted an ordinance to rename road “D” at the Jackson Justice Complex to Robert Ventura Drive in honor of the late Jackson Police Officer Robert Ventura.
Ventura was killed in 2001 in a car accident while he was on patrol. He was in his second year of service with the Jackson Police Department.
Police Chief Matthew Kunz and other officers from the police department were present to thank the mayor and council members for their support and the recognition of Ventura’s sacrifice.
Mayor Michael Reina presented the Ventura family with a Robert Ventura Drive street sign.