The City of Perry is ready to put its newest piece of machinery to work, as their $300,000 street sweeper has finally arrived.

The equipment was purchased for the Public Works Department, and Assistant Director Josh Wuebker says it will be a huge help. He says the delivery of the sweeper was delayed because the company they bought it from had to do some additional tune-ups on it, but now that it’s arrived crews are excited to put it to use. One of the primary functions of the street sweeper is to clean up the leaves that have fallen off trees and into the roadways, which Wuebker points out is only going to increase as we progress further into fall.

However, he also says the public can do their part to make the sweeper more effective. “You know, it keeps the leaves and everything out of the storm intakes. One thing residents can do is rake their yards, it really does help, it keeps them from getting plugged up. And you know especially when we get snow and everything, it starts melting, that just lets the water go. Leaves will kind of act like wood over an intake or whatever, and just totally plug it up. So try to get all those cleaned up and stuff and make our jobs easier (and) make the streets flow good.”

Wuebker adds, the new street sweeper replaces their old machine, which was around 17-years-old and cost a lot of money to operate and maintain. The price tag was covered by the stormwater fund, and it’s a piece of equipment Public Works has been wanting for around five years. To learn more about this and other topics involving the Perry Public Works Department, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.