Jim Thorpe Borough has decided to forego renting a street sweeper in 2017 after a troubled experience last year.

During a board workshop earlier this month, borough officials said the effort was complicated last year because the overwhelming majority of resident didn't move their vehicles on the specified days.Council passed a motion in March 2016 to rent a street sweeper from DeAngelo Brothers, of Hazleton.The $6,800 contract included the machinery and operators for two weeks of street cleaning in the borough."Most residents didn't move their cars and the machine actually broke down twice," Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said in April 2016. "We were paying to have it go sweep a little bit and then go around some cars. The streets were not being swept they way its meant to be done."Jim Thorpe Public Services Manager Vince Yaich said he brought the topic up in January this year because outside contractors get booked quickly if the borough decided to give it another try in 2017."It was tough last year," he said. "I think they did one or two streets on the west side of town and four or five on the east side."Residents questioned why the borough didn't tow vehicles that had not been moved before the start of street sweeping."You have to consider where are you taking the vehicles and who is liable for them," Police Chief Joe Schatz said. "We do tow for the St. Patrick's Day parade and everything goes to Bernhard's Service Center. For street sweeping, that is a lot of cars to tow."The borough had its own street sweeper that is no longer operable.It recently listed the 1985 Elgin Pelican Sweeper on Municibid, an online auction site for government entities, where it fetched a high bid of $2,950.Street sweeping is something Borough President Greg Strubinger said the municipality would keep an eye on in the future."We have to make sure we're getting some bang for our buck," he added.