Saugus DPW makes equipment purchases

SAUGUS – Saugus Department of Public Works Director Joe Attubato said two new pieces of equipment recently purchased may wind up saving money for the town.Last week the town purchased a $17,000 hot asphalt patcher, commonly referred to as a “hot box,” and a $7,000 sign printer.Attubato said the DPW had been relying on expensive outside sources for both items. Renting a hot box cost around $1,000 per month, said Attubato.?The hot box should pay for itself in two years,” said Attubato, who showed off the new piece of equipment in the DPW parking lot Friday. “We used to rent for years. The problem with that was we?d call up and they?d say, ?We?ll have it for you in two days.? Now we have our own.”The bright yellow two-ton, diesel-fueled machine hooks up to a trailer hitch and has 12 burners that keep a ready supply asphalt mix at a constant 290 degrees for emergency pothole repairs.Attubato said the town bought the hot box using Chapter 90 funds, which is money the commonwealth gives out for highway maintenance based on the amount of road miles in a town. According to Attubato, Saugus received around $400,000 last year in Chapter 90 funds.Inside the DPW sign room, John Faragi, the head sign-maker, explained how the new sign printer works.The digital printer, a refurbished Roland SP-300V, prints and cuts signs on thin, red transparent strips, which are then attached to blank panels of reflective aluminum using a strong adhesive transfer tape.These signs are then mounted on poles and placed accordingly.The best part about the new printer, said Faragi, is that it doesn?t just make street signs, it makes any type of sign the DPW would need around town, including truck decals.?Whatever I can create on that computer this machine can duplicate,” said Faragi. “There?s thousands of different templates as far as stop signs, school zones. Everything is online with this company. If I needed a stop-sign template I just go online and grab the template. Once it loaded into the machine I don?t have to download it again.”Faragi said this means he can print as many of the same signs as he needs. Which could come in handy for one particular street sign, High Street, which Faragi said is the most stolen sign in town and has disappeared six times in his career.While it will be helpful in keeping a steady supply of signs on hand, Faragi said, it too will eventually start saving the town money.Ordering signs from an outside source costs up to $100, according to Faragi. With the new printer, it only costs around $25 per sign.?We were at the mercy of the vendors,” said Faragi. “There are a lot of residents in town that call seven or eight times because they don?t have their signs. I can?t just pull it out of thin air. Now if somebody calls? Give me an hour. I print it all up and I?m out putting the sign in.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.