Terry Traver
Scandia Reporter
At the Scandia City Council’s March 15 meeting, the council awarded Dresel Contracting a bid for its 2016 road improvement project, which includes the reconstruction of portions of 237th Street, Novak Avenue, 236th Street and Oldfield Avenue.
The 2016 budget included $1.15 million for this project. Bids were opened on Feb. 24. Seven contractors submitted bids for the project, with the low bidder being Dresel at $841,001.
“The lower bids were somewhat due to the lower fuel prices,” City Engineer Ryan Goodman explained.
The council unanimously agreed to award the contract to Dresel. Oldfield Avenue was only set to be included in the reconstruction if the bids came in favorably, and it was added to the project; it will be reconstructed from 230th Street North to 240th Street North.
The council had also budgeted $175,000 for a 2016 seal coat and crack filling project of local roadways and another $9,000 to seal coat the public works parking lot. The council unanimously approved the plans for this project and authorized opening the bid process near the middle of April.
Public works truck
The subject of a new dump truck for the Public Works Department was discussed by the council in 2015. Director of Public Works Dave Williams had pointed out several problems with the current vehicle that could amount to expensive repairs in the near future. He said the sander system is outdated and can’t be calibrated, so it is guesswork as to how much salt is being put on the roads.
The interior and exterior of the vehicle is also showing significant wear after much use. After some debate last year, the council agreed to support the purchase. Williams brought specifics about the purchase to the March 15 meeting.
Williams presented a proposal to the council for replacement of the department’s 2002 Sterling dump truck with the purchase of a 2016 Mack dump truck. The cost of the new vehicle would be $103,093. Factoring the trade-in value of the old truck at $30,000 and the cost of a snow plow package, Williams estimated that the final cost for the truck would be slightly under $178,000, including tax and license fees. Funds would be allocated through the Equipment Replacement Fund.
When asked by the council the mileage of the Sterling vehicle, Williams told them it had 47,000 miles on it. Councilmen Jim Schneider and Dan Lee suggested that the purchase of city vehicles should be staggered for a longer period of time than two years. Current public works vehicles other than the Sterling were purchased in 2012 and 2014, and the new vehicle would be purchased in 2016.
“My concern is that this is a perfectly good truck,” Schneider said. “Let’s put it off for another year.”
Lee agreed and motioned to table the discussion until next year. The council unanimously approved.