SARATOGA SPRINGS - The ultimate recycling project.

Pictured, from left to right: Jim Ferrara-Mechanic, Ben Earls-Mechanic, Joe Rapant-Utility Person, Dale Jenks-Mechanic, Bill Reynolds-Mechanic, Gary Middlebrook-Mechanic, Chris Caro-Mechanic, and Chuck Tanzer-Fleet Maintenance Supervisor


The people who work on Saratoga Springs City School District's bus fleet unveiled what appears to be a sparkling new truck on Thursday.
In reality, it's a former 33-passenger bus that a team of workers converted to a heavy-duty utility truck that will be used to sand parking lots this winter - saving taxpayers roughly $80,000 in the process.

It all began last year when a school board member asked fleet maintenance Supervisor Chuck Tanzer if old school buses, headed for retirement, could have some type of useful second life.

Fortunately, Tanzer had been kicking ideas around for the past several years and was just waiting for the right moment to take action.

Last winter, the district was using a 1983 Dodge pickup truck to do sanding and it had to be fueled three times to get the job done.

Sometimes, sand couldn't be picked up from a local supplier until after school buses had left to make their morning runs.

"That was seriously inadequate," Tanzer said.

A new, large truck would have cost somewhere around $100,000.

Instead, Tanzer's crew spent $10,000 retrofitting 16-year-old bus No. 233, which had made daily runs to Lake Desolation, and purchased an $11,000 sander under state contract. Total price tag -- $21,000.

"We would encourage other districts to tackle projects of this nature to save money," he said.

Work began in June and Tanzer's crew rolled the truck out Thursday for the first time. The old engine, with about 310,000 miles on it, was replaced with a spare, rebuilt bus
engine.

The hood, chassis, axels, transmission and frame are all original. Tanzer went shopping on the Internet and found a truck cab in Maryland, a good source because it wasn't exposed to severe Northern winters.

He credited Gary Middlebrook, his crew's main auto body person, with handling much of the job. But everyone had a hand in it with all kinds of contributions from electrical to brake work.

"It looks just as good underneath," said Tanzer, lifting the truck's shiny blue hood.

The public will get its first look at the vehicle during the school's annual Homecoming Parade in downtown Saratoga Springs next month.

The project took about 350 to 400 man hours to complete, but in Tanzer's estimation was worth every penny of it.

"Everybody participated in this," he said.

Reprinted from www.saratogian.com