Village staff urge replacement of aging hydro sewer truck amid steady preventative jetting

Water Pollution Control supervisors told the Ridgewood Village Council on Feb. 2 that aging equipment and round-the-clock service requirements justify a top-priority capital request for a hydro sewer truck and additional maintenance funding.

Jim Fellows, WPC supervisor, said the existing hydro truck has more than 6,000 hours and is "tired" after heavy preventive maintenance (jetting roughly 1.5 million feet in recent years). "The truck is tired. It's on its last legs," he said when describing the unit's age and maintenance needs. Fellows listed a $370,000 approximate replacement cost and a $20,000 request for root-control services, which come with a three-year warranty from vendors for specific neighborhoods.

WPC staff also explained the department’s overtime line: because WPC operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, overtime fluctuates with sick time, storms and system failures; the overtime request is about $95,000 (line detail 14), and hiring an additional employee might not meaningfully reduce overtime once benefits are factored in. Fellows and Chief Operator Bill Rickley emphasized that unpredictable failures and storm response are driving factors.

Fellows noted the department generates revenue (about $184,000 last year) from septic and similar outside work, and councilors discussed formalizing shared-service arrangements with neighboring municipalities as a partial offset to capital costs. The council asked staff to explore small-town collaborative procurement or a sinking fund to smooth the replacement cost.

What’s next: the council will consider the capital requests during the final capital-prioritization meeting this week and asked staff to report options for shared services and potential resale value of the old truck.