Town of Huntington, NY - News Details
12/11/2015 - Huntington Displays New Equipment for Snowstorms
The temperature says spring, but the calendar says winter is approaching, and Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone, Highway Superintendent Peter Gunther and the Town Council want residents to know that when snow comes, the Town is prepared.
Over the past two years, the Highway Department has upgraded its fleet of vehicles available for snow plowing, purchasing 10 new dump trucks and refurbishing 10 others to extend their useful life. The Highway Department also has equipped its vehicles with GPS technology and has purchased 200 GPS systems to be given to private contractors whom the Town plans to hire to plow snow, allowing workers at the department’s operations center to track their locations and deploy them where most needed. The department’s 43 foreman also have been given tablet computers to obtain real-time information when in the field and quickly reposition equipment.
The new and refurbished trucks represent a $2.25 million commitment by the Town to improve the performance and reliability of Highway Department vehicles. The fleet of 70 dump trucks average 25 years old, and require considerable maintenance to keep them on the road. The 10 new trucks have five-year, bumper-to-bumper warranties, which should save on maintenance costs. The refurbished trucks’ bodies had rotted out due to salt exposure; they were refurbished with stainless steel, which is expected to add roughly 15 years to their lives.
“We’re hoping there won’t be snow this year, but if there is, we can rest easy knowing that the Highway Department is prepared,” Supervisor Petrone said. “This is a great opportunity to show what the Town of Huntington can do when there is great cooperation, namely, first and foremost, working together with a most effective highway superintendent.”
Superintendent Gunther, in turn, thanked the Town Board for approving the vehicle purchases and the technology upgrades for his staff. “We have become really automated now,” he said. “Whether it is snow or a nasty storm of any magnitude, we are able to take care of whatever the problem is. We are a more efficient and better highway department.”
Supervisor Petrone and Councilwoman Tracey Edwards, who joined the event displaying the new vehicles, both noted the many different ways residents can communicate with the department: telephone hotline, email, and through the Town website (including a mobile app). Supervisor Petrone also wants residents to know the many ways they can get information in a storm: from the Town’s website, www.huntingtonny.gov; the Town’s Facebook page (Town of Huntington) and Twitter feed (@HuntTownHall); and, in the case of snow emergencies, automated telephone calls through the Town’s Huntington Alert system. Residents with an unlisted telephone number, or with a preference to be called on a mobile phone, should sign up through the Town’s website, if they have not already done so.
Superintendent Gunther also reminded residents that in advance of a storm, they should remove their cars – and basketball hoops – from the streets to make plowing quicker and more effective.