Council OKs $50K safety equipment purchase

The McDonough City Council voted unanimously at its July 20 regular meeting to approve the purchase of more than $50,000 in fire safety equipment. The purchases include six self-contained breathing apparatuses, 12 carbon cylinder valves and six face pieces.

Also approved was an expenditure of $13,500 for renovation of the city water department’s north well pump station structure including brick/ door repair, electrical replacements and lighting, roofing, painting, replacement of metal doors, other materials, labor and demolition.

These were approved as part of the consent agenda, which included adoption of a loan modification that city officials said will allow the city to defer payments for the past six months of 2020 and reduce its cash outlay by approximate $86,000. with the city to pick up litter from city streets and cart paths and also manages the Rockaway Road yard waste dump. It oversees the recycling center on McIntosh Trail, which has seen a drop in the value of some of the materials collected but has also benefited from the cardboard compressor.

Yougel said the organization has experienced a $5,000 drop in revenue this year because of a pandemic-related lack of dozens of private events where KPTCB is usually hired to collect cans, bottles and other recyclables.

It has alsoseen an $800 drop in revenue from franchise fees provided by the city’s three residential trash haulers, based on an estimated 200 homes no longer using curbside services.