County of Monmouth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 19, 2009

Area public works personnel discuss
methods of controlling ice and snow 
They also learn about the county’s municipal 
assistance/shared services program

A Monmouth County truck treating an iced-over roadFREEHOLD, NJ – More than 100 public works directors, supervisors, foremen and crew chiefs from 26 Monmouth County municipalities attended a recent seminar on controlling ice and snow. The program was sponsored by the Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering.

The seminar, held Nov. 9 at the county’s Agriculture Building in Freehold Township, was an opportunity for local public works personnel to learn about the county’s use of magnesium-treated sodium chloride, which is less harmful to the environment and more effective in colder temperatures.

Also discussed was the application of salt brine prior to a snowfall, which prevents the snow from bonding to the roadways, as well as preseason preventive maintenance of hydraulic systems and  salt spreader calibration. Staff from the county’s Highway, Bridge, Shade Tree and Fleet Services  divisions and Reclamation Center also attended.

“I was very pleased with the attendance and interest shown by the municipalities,” Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow said. “We have opened up a dialogue with our municipal partners to share information, solve problems and ultimately reduce operational costs.”
 
Information about the county’s Cooperative Purchasing Program and the Municipal Assistance/Shared Services Program also was presented.

Under the county’s Cooperative Purchasing Program, as long as public agencies use the exact terms and conditions that the county has with a vendor, they can use it to purchase equipment and supplies. Since the county has already gone out to bid, the schools or towns do not have to do so, as long as the vendor extends the county’s price to them.    

With the county’s Municipal Assistance/Shared Services Program, municipalities can utilize county owned equipment or request expertise to help solve a problem. For further information on these programs, contact the county’s Department of Public Works and Engineering at 732-577-8758.

“Leveraging their needs for equipment and supplies through a co-op should result in some real savings to the municipalities,” Public Works and Engineering Director John W. Tobia said. “Packaged together, these programs can assist in reducing operational costs and increase productivity. That is our goal by availing the county’s resources to the municipalities.”

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