City gets grant for clamp bucket

The City of Olney got a surprise from the Nortex Regional Planning Commission in the form of a check that nearly covers the cost of a clamp bucket that will help city workers demolish derelict homes and pick up street trash, City Administrator Arpegea Pagsuberon said.

The City Council had approved the $28,000 purchase of the clamp bucket earlier this year and was planning to use leftover funds from the American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA], federal stimulus legislation designed to help state and local governments struggling to fund operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Pagsuberon had ordered and was expecting to take delivery of the clamp bucket by March. She also had applied to Nortex for a grant to buy the clamp bucket but did not receive enough “points” from the grant committee to be among the top three contenders for a solid waste disposal grant, she said.

Nortex informed her last week that the City of Olney would get funding after all, as the funds allocated for the solid waste disposal grants had not all been used, she said.

The City received the check for a $22,494.06 grant from Nortex on Sept. 29 and will pay the remaining $4,500 cost of the clamp bucket from remaining road construction funds from the fiscal year 2022 budget, Ms. Pagsuberon said.

The City Council approved the purchase of the clamp bucket earlier this year as Councilmembers contemplated how to spend leftover ARPA funds. The Public Works Department will use it to demolish condemned homes and pick up large trash items during the City’s annual Clean Up Week, she said.