Faye DiMassimo
DiMassimo has asked commissioners to buy the vehicle at tonight’s meeting.
She is recommending the lowest bid from Nextran Truck Center at $233,618 for a “Mack truck-style” salt spreader with front snowplow and two salt spreader hoppers. The federal government will pick up 80 percent of the tab for the new truck, with the county footing the remaining 20 percent.
Dan McDuff, the department of transportation’s deputy director, said the county hasn’t owned a snowplow in six years. The new rig will be used for clearing Cobb Community Transit parking lots, along with the bus maintenance yards, he said.
“We had them in the past, but we didn’t have any opportunities to really use them in the past,” McDuff said. “They were surplussed years ago. They were old and just weren’t usable.”
When the ice storm struck Cobb two winters ago, the county found itself in need of some snow removal equipment, he said.
“It was a real problem in the last ice storm because of our inability to do anything with CCT buses and our need to first of all make our facilities safe, like our park-and-ride, and just for the bus drivers to get the buses out of the parking lot was a challenge,” he said. “It would give us the ability to clear routes for the bus drivers to keep bus service active.”
During that ice storm, the county leased several motor graders from contractors to help move the ice, he said.
“That way we don’t have to buy a bunch of things that sit in the yard and rust,” he said.
Since then, there hasn’t been a need for a snowplow in Cobb County.
“Here’s the issue,” county chairman Tim Lee said. “We need to have a minimal amount of equipment available in the event we have some inclement weather similar to what we had last time.”
Because of the demand for such vehicles, it won’t be until fall that it arrives if approved by the commissioners tonight, he said.
The Federal Transit Administration will pay for 80 percent of the cost through a matching grant program.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the boardroom at 100 Cherokee St., Marietta.
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Please let's get rid of these morons!!!
All of Cobb County, all of Cobb,... just 2 animal control vans! Just 2 !! There should be at least one animal control van for each & every one of the six cities! But there's not!!
We need to tighten up codes for owners of dangerous dogs.
Many of them are being abused. The thugs owning, breeding & fighting pit bulls is a growing problem in Cobb.
So is just general neglect of animals.
We have had the Smyrna police out to a rental house 3-4 times , where all they can do is sit and wait hours(on the clock) for an animal control van to make its way over to Smyrna, only to find , once the animal control shows up, they have to leave the tied up, barking dog , tied up, barking & freezing.
I've been told that Cobb considers domesticated dogs in the same group as sheep, goats & livestock!
Time to change that!
There just isn't the desire to crack down & raise fines for abuse!
We have animals tied up. tethered in the freezing weather, running loose & attacking people.
But the animal control officers hands are tied. They usually have to leave a mistreated animal behind,.. because in Cobb County, there just aren't any laws to protect the animals OR the surrounding homeowners!
There are NEEDs in Cobb County!
Weigh it out-
animal control van/officer,... snow plow!
Let's become a smarter county!
We had snow plows that weren't used in 6 years so we got rid of them.
It snowed 2 years ago, and now we need a plow to clear transit parking lots?
People don't go to work in the snow. How are they going to drive to the cleared transit lots?
Even though 80% of the cost is coming from "federal money"...we're still paying for it, that's OUR tax money.
And for those people who complain that the roads aren't clear after a day of snow...get a life. It doesn't snow that often here. Enjoy a couple days off work.
Ms. Faye can't be serious.
Is that too much to ask?
Does Cobb even have farmers?