The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CARES Act funds used to purchase new plow truck
Painesville Township is getting a new plow truck.
Trustees voted to use funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to purchase a new plow truck. The decision was made at the Sept. 15 meeting.
The decision stemmed from concern regarding the safety of workers in the township service department.
Administrator Mike Manary said the township did not have enough trucks to match the number of employees, therefore, the employees would share trucks. Manary said this led to concerns about spreading the virus.
“We had to separate the service department into two shifts,” Manary said. “Some of the guys are sharing a truck. It would be for the public safety and our employee safety to have separate trucks and prevent any type of exposure to someone else.”
The new truck will limit exposure, Manary said.
“We don’t have to worry about people being crosscontaminated or being exposed to someone else in a truck,” Manary said. “If one, two or three of them went out sick, we would really struggle to be able to plow the roads throughout the township and keep them salted. Trustee Josh Pennock said if the employees contracted the virus, then multiple workers could potentially get sick. He said this could cause safety concerns throughout the township because roads may not get plowed.
“[This provides] a safer working environment for our employees, while at the same time ensuring that we had an adequate number of trucks to keep our roads clear and passable in a snowstorm for our residents,” Pennock said.
Pennock said the decision to use the money provided by the CARES Act to purchase the truck puts the township in a position to be prepared for the worst.
“We’re using the COVID relief money to prepare for what could be the worst or make sure we’re prepared if this continues through the winter,” Pennock said. “We’re using this like suggested, to prepare for what you need in case this continues.”