Council Approves Public Works Purchases

Toms River Township Council members last week approved the purchase of a spray patcher and garage doors that total over $240,000. 

The 2012 model spray patcher — a truck that is used to repair roadway conditions such as pot holes — will be bought from U.S. Municipal Supply, Inc., for a maximum amount of $209,880, according to the resolution authorizing its purchase.

The eight replacement garage doors for public works facilities will be bought and installed for no more than $32,000, according to a purchase resolution. 

One resident at the meeting questioned why all of the garage doors had to be replaced now, rather than staggered, so that the township would not have to pay all at once. 

"They were all installed at the same time and they're at the end of their life span. They have to be replaced," said Public Works Director Lou Amoruso. "It's more cost-effective to replace them all at once. You incur one mobilization and demobilization cost."

The resident asked whether the doors are usable and if the replacements are necessary. 

"They're not function properly and they need to be replaced," Amoruso said. "At some point it becomes a liability," the director said, noting that the doors use high tension springs to operate.