We were visited by Shannon from the Loves Park Streets Department. As John Hurley pointed out, long time Rotarians may remember him as the person responsible for allowing our use of the City barn for sorting and storing our grapefruit and oranges during the fruit drive in heated comfort out of the elements. As head of the streets department, Shannon was in charge of over 330 miles of road and a budget of over $300,000. Their largest expense is for road salt which accounted for almost $200,000 and is purchased each year in March. They are required to pay for at least 80% of the salt when ordered. During the season, he monitors up to seven forecasts to stay on top of scheduling to keep the roads clean. He was instrumental in implementing a new system of mixing water with the salt to conserve the precious supply of salt and make a more efficient mixture for cleaning the roads. However, he was quick to point out that it would not have been effective if his crews had not “bought in” to the new process. Thanks, Shannon, for an interesting and informative talk.
