Prosper would put its own street sweeper on the road under a purchase on the Town Council's consent agenda Tuesday, Oct. 13, adding town crews to a job a contractor has handled for years.
The council is set to approve buying an ODRA MT4H mechanical road sweeper for $282,635 through a Sourcewell cooperative contract. The money is in this year's budget, drawn from the stormwater division of Public Works, according to a memo from Public Works Director Carrie Jones.
How sweeping works now
Sweeping Corporation of America sweeps all of the town's major thoroughfares every other month, and that contract continues, the memo says. Starting this budget year, sweeping along US 380 increases to once a month to cut down on debris buildup there. Once the Dallas North Tollway is finished through town, staff will consider sweeping more often in both directions, Jones wrote.
The town-owned machine is meant to fill the gaps between contractor visits. Crews would mainly sweep major and minor thoroughfares, collector streets, streets in the Old Town district, town facilities and spots where debris tends to wash into storm drains. Roads with speed limits above 45 mph would stay with the contractor because of the extra traffic control those require.
A street sweeping policy attached to the item lets Public Works send the sweeper out after storms or flooding, construction mud, crashes and spills, special events and heavy leaf buildup. When a builder, utility or property owner is responsible for the mess, the town may require that party to clean it up.
Sweeping also counts toward the town's stormwater permit, which requires annual reporting to the state, the memo says.
