Board approves purchase of heavier crane truck for wastewater collections

The Board of Public Works approved staff’s recommendation to purchase a heavier crane truck for the wastewater collections crew and to proceed with the low bid from Brown Chevrolet.

Public works staff said pump sizes at lift stations have increased and the city’s existing crane is too small to lift the larger pumps, forcing staff to hire contractors for some work. The purchase was previously budgeted; staff had included $250,000 in planning but reported the low bid came in far below that planning figure.

Staff presented the winning vendor as Brown Chevrolet (transcript includes both "Tom Brown Chevrolet" and "Don Brown Chevrolet"). The bid amount was reported in the meeting as "179.04 33" in the transcript; staff summarized the figure as substantially below the $250,000 budget. "We had planned on purchasing a bigger truck this year anyway. It just got to the point where we need it now," a staff member said.

The board approved the purchase and directed staff to forward the award to the city council for final processing. The meeting record did not identify which board member made or seconded the motion on the record; staff indicated they would place the order once council processing is complete.