ROANOKE RAPIDS — Use of a street sweeper is more for function than it is for beauty, city Public Works Director Richard Parnell explains.

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The program, however, was grounded last year when four positions were frozen due to budget cuts and is now beginning its second year as the city continues to struggle with lower than expected revenues while shouldering part of the debt of The Roanoke Rapids Theatre.

“Really what drove it was when they froze four positions,” Parnell said Friday. “We had to reevaluate services, we had to prioritize our services.” Running the street sweeper, which requires a Commercial Driver’s License, a steady hand and defensive driving, also costs the city $80 to $90 an hour. Some of its mechanics are fragile, especially a device called the gutter broom, he said.

When the program was under way, it was a Monday through Thursday deal with a late night sweep of the avenue.

Parnell says, due to the size of the city, a second sweeper is needed to sweep debris on some 70 miles of curbed and guttered streets.

What are the consequences of going into a second year of not running the machinery, which has a $100,000 to $120,000 sticker price? “Some people think the sweeper is for beauty,” Parnell said. “It’s to keep sediment out of storm drainage which leads to the water (including the Roanoke River and streams).” There are already signs the street sweeper is not running. Some as minor as a dusting of sediment along street sides while in other places debris is covering storm grates, which could eventually lead to sediment building in storm drainage pipes, causing some street flooding.

The one beneficial thing is that grass has grown up through curbs and gutters and will keep the sediment from flowing into storm drainage systems, Parnell said.

Going into the second year of the program suspension, the department is now nine people short. “The guy we had operating the street sweeper is cutting grass now,” Parnell said.

Because of the shortages, the department monitors the build up of sediment and will respond to citizen complaints.

Residents can help the situation by not dumping debris directly into the street when they cut their grass, especially around guttered areas.

“You can sprinkle it back in the yard or put it in a bag and we’ll collect and dispose of it properly.”