When a strong summer storm hits, like the one Streamwood experienced this summer, the trees, branches, and other brushes in the park usually become the unfortunate victims, making cleanup a long, laborious, and costly process. It may become
Streamwood Park District now has a new weapon to help clean up in the form of the Vermeer BC1500 Brush Chipper. The Park District Commission approved the purchase at its July 26 board meeting.
The total cost of the chippers purchased through the Sourcewell Joint Purchasing Program was $60,000.
Executive Director Jeff Janda said:
Prior to purchasing the chipper, the park district contracted with garbage collectors to deposit tree and brush branches, with reported minimum costs estimated at $1,000 per month. Staff loaded landscape-related items onto park trucks, transported materials, moved them to trash bins, and compacted debris in an attempt to maximize payload. This process was very labor intensive.
The new chipper can now be towed to a location if needed, where the debris is crushed behind a dump truck collection box.
Additionally, park districts will be able to create their own mulch from undergrowth debris for use in parks and other facilities.
“This reduces garbage truck rentals, truck usage, labor costs, and mulch acquisition costs, and improves safety,” said Janda. “It also reduces the cost of contracted tree services.”
According to Janda, the payback on this investment can be realized in just five years, giving the unit an overall expected useful service life of about 20 years.
