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INNOVATIV EFFORT BY PARKS h1AINTENANCE SAVES TIME AND MONEY <br /> <br /> By Tim Rh y, Public Works Maintenance <br /> Line painters mark boundary lines on playing fields by spraying white <br /> paint ont the field surface. An innovative effort by Parks Maintenance <br /> staff has enabled us to mechanize line painting years before a commercially <br /> built mac ine could have been purchased and saved the City at least $6,000 in <br /> capital o tlay costs. <br /> Earl riding-type field line painters were flimsy affairs that were <br /> difficult to move from site to site. Transportable riding liners only became <br /> available three or four years ago. However they are expensive and with the <br /> tight bud ets, we were unable to purchase one. <br /> I ap roached Dennis Rattenborg, park specialist III, about building a <br /> line pain ing attachment that would mount on a piece of existing equipment. <br /> The modif'cation would need to be done in such a way that the line painter <br /> did not i terfere with the normal operation of the equipment. Dennis <br /> accepted he challenge and he and his assistant, Todd Richards, began the <br /> project. They selected a triplex mower for the base and found a <br /> self-contained herbicide sprayer to use for the painting mechanism. <br /> Jerr Burtraw and Bob Foster, Fleet Maintenance, reconditioned the mower <br /> engine and rebuilt its worn steering mechanism. Dennis designed and <br /> constructed his own version of a contour following painting head. He <br /> installe a twin-fan nozzle to ensure good coverage and a neater line, <br /> converte the plumbing for painting rather than spraying, and fabricated a <br /> mounting technique so the entire spray mechanism could be removed easily. <br /> <br />