Sunnyside Trying To Sweep The Streets Clean

The city of Sunnyside spent $200,000 on a street sweeper that barely works on its coarse chip sealed roads. Our News partner KIMA Action News says the city never tested the machine ahead of time. It has now been in the city almost six months and can't be returned. Public Works Superintendent Shane Fisher says they have tried everything to make the new machine work. It's a big mistake that comes just as crews prepare for over six miles of street repairs this summer.

This sweeper needed to clean the roads beforehand; a job that can't be done by the old sweeper. "The chip seal program we had for this year will be delayed until next year," said Sunnyside Interim City Manager Frank Sweet. "It won't be a significant problem. We just like to have things scheduled out and so this does affect the schedule." Now, roadwork will be pushed back until next summer.

Sunnyside said it's talking to nearby cities hoping to sell the machine and get back most of the money. Kennewick is among the cities interested in the machine, said Sweet. City leaders say next time there will be more oversight and the next machine will be tested prior to purchase. Sunnyside plans to buy a new street sweeper this winter.