Officials in the Street and Sanitation and the Stormwater Departments anticipate the addition of two new vehicles to the city’s fleet.
In a split vote of 5-1, City Councilmen voted in favor of purchasing a Knuckle Boom truck and a Nissan Rogue SUV.
The Knuckle Boom will be used by the Street and Sanitation Department for brush and bulk refuse pickup. Currently, they have one that is operational, but the old 1992 model is out of commission.
“It’s a maintenance nightmare; it leaks and it’s not safe,” said Street and Sanitation Manager Danny Hilbert. “It’s been around a long time and served its purpose, but it needs to be replaced.”
The 2016 model will cost $155,000 and will be essentially the same as the old one, but 24 years newer.
“The old one worked really well with very few issues, so we are ordering an identical, but newer truck with the same specifications,” said Hilbert.
He estimated its life expectancy to be at least ten years, and noted how long the 1992 model has lasted.
The Rogue SUV has a life expectancy of at least ten years as well, and will be replacing Stormwater Coordinator Joseph Barnett’s 1997 Ford Ranger.
“The Ranger is spent,” he said. “We try to take care of the vehicles, but it’s fairly worn out and has over 100,000 miles on it.”
He will use the SUV to have all the prints and technology manuals on site at project inspections, which he said will save time and ensure accuracy.
“By doing that, I can open up the back of the Rogue with a mobile filing system there and have prints with me so we can answer questions,” he said.
In the Ranger, he can barely fit his laptop and printer and cannot transport personnel to meetings or job sites.
“The SUV will allow me to transport people to meetings with all the documents I need, and I couldn’t do that before,” he said.
The Ranger will be auctioned, and he said proceeds will go back into the city’s funds.
“I am glad to be getting a new vehicle,” he said. He has worked for the City for 18 years and said this will likely be the last one he uses for work.
The trucks will be purchased if Council approves on second reading, and they will be paid off in three years in capital outlay notes.