Longboat's grapple truck arrives

Longboat Key just got a hand to help clean up after the next storm strikes.

A big, hydraulically powered steel hand, that is.

The town recently took delivery of a grapple truck, designed to grab piles of roadside debris – such as palm fronds and tree limbs – and cart it off for disposal.

Hurricane season officially begins June 1.

The town in December decided to buy the $130,000 piece of machinery, acknowledging that it won’t be something that gets daily use. But when it’s needed, such as in the weeks following Hurricane Irma in 2017, it will be invaluable.

“The staff appreciates the Commission’s support of the new truck and the enhancement it provides to the town and our ability to provide a higher level of debris removal service to the residents,’’ Town Manager Tom Harmer wrote in an e-mail to town staffers.

One of the major delays in cleaning up piles of debris after Irma was waiting for contracted crews in their own grapple trucks to make their way.

By Oct. 26,  more than 12,000 cubic yards of debris was picked up across the island, either by contractors or by town staff. For comparison, a small dump truck has a capacity of about five cubic yards; large dump trucks can carry as much as 10.