Moorestown Patch Letter To The Editor: Former Councilman Urges Town on Asset Management, Solar Energy

To the Editor:

I am writing to you today for several reasons. First I am happy to report that after 14 months of medical issues I have been fully released by my doctors. I am very grateful to my family, the people of two churches and several folks in our town who carried me and supported me during this time. While I regretted leaving town council in November of 2015, it was the right thing to do for my health.

In 2013, 2014, and 2015 while on town council, I had advocated for an Asset Management system to be investigated and purchased by the town, and had introduced this many times at Council meetings as well as to the staff. I had been first trained on its forerunner, a Computerized Maintenance Management System, in 1984.

This system has the ability to organize and effectively prioritize the tasks needed for buildings, grounds, and equipment, as well as the vehicles in the town. A few of the advantages are, for instance, separating into categories tasks which are emergency; priority – within 3 days; routine – within 15 days; and standard – within 30 days, all work needed for an organization.

Work that is completed in an as-you-can basis is also captured. Additionally, any work can easily separated into warrantied items, or insurance or other categories saving money for the town by directing to those departments these kinds of occurrences as they happen.

It is my understanding that town council has now had some interest in this type of system, which I am very glad to hear. There is a great deal of preliminary work that should be agreed to and budgeted as needed if the town is to go in this direction. My hope is that, as we have been discussing for several years, we will implement it with action by the council.

A newly hired person cannot just turn on this program. It has many facets such as setting base marks and providing inventory counts, as well as gathering information and specifications on fixed and mobile equipment.

Another great thing about this system is that when it is done in a proper matter, you would hire more in house staff so that you are sure to not face costly emergencies. You would also be able to complete the maintenance care of our town assets in a planned way keeping the assets to a high standard as Moorestown wants.

Contractors, while used, would be a second remedy to this method as inside staff would be more at ready and mobile and flexible to do several types of tasks again saving the town money and all that negotiating and tracking time needed for contractors.

Work will be completed not only in a preventative and emergency manner, but well planned in advance in a proactive manner considering upgrades where needed. In the 24 years I had experience in the use of this system, it made quite a difference to the presentation and quality of our organization's assets.

My hope is that town council sees clearly the whole package and supports the staff in implementing this system. Manager Tom Merchel and I have discussed vendors who can provide the programs for this system several times while I was on Council, and I have now volunteered to be any help I can with the implementation of the system. Here is hoping we carry through on this.

On another subject, since 2009 I have asked that the town look into how solar energy could be used to supply the electric energy, reducing the town’s cost and making the town more sustainable.

As a matter of fact, I presented ideas three times in this direction when Mr. Button was mayor, and several times while serving on council. At the end of 2014 we were close to getting a consultant for looking into how best to use solar energy to our advantage, but it did not go through.

In fact that year, a report was given to town council stating that our energy use was 5 megawatts. I recently read that a megawatt was the equivalent of supplying 164 homes with electricity. All of the surrounding towns use Solar for their energy, and Mr. Button gave an award to OPEX company for their installation of 4,000 Solar panels – a Moorestown company now off the grid paying nothing for the supply of their electricity for at least six years.

Think of what one could do with the money saved if our town did not have to pay for electric of approximately 5 megawatts. I urge the town council again, as I did before when I was on council, to allow in the budget for a consultant to guide us in how we can not only use solar energy to our advantage financially, but become more sustainable as a community.

We have a good town and we can make it better with these initiatives. Let’s do it!

Sincerely,
Greg Newcomer

For Moorestown