Lee County board approves purchase of Kubota tractor from Lawson after bid review

Lee County supervisors reviewed two bids for a replacement tractor and approved moving forward with the lower-priced Kubota bid from Lawson Building Supply.

Board member (S2) told the board, "We got 2 bids for the tractor. First bid was from Lawson Building Supply on a SIM 7060 HDC Kubota with the front loader and all the attachments that were requested by, by the specs... $59,350." He said a second bid for a John Deere 5075 (75 horsepower) was $64,006.00 and that estimated repair costs for the county's existing tractor ran about $37,975, most of that for a long-block engine.

After discussion about horsepower cutoffs and warranty expectations, the Chair moved to proceed with the Lawson bid; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote, with "Aye" recorded in the transcript. The board member who presented the bids recommended buying the Kubota and selling the current tractor rather than paying the quoted repair costs.

The transcript includes a vendor name for the higher bid rendered as "Meat Tractor" in the text; that name is unclear in the transcript and should be verified with the official bid documents. Repair-cost figures in the transcript also contain typographical artifacts (e.g., "37.09 70") and should be confirmed in procurement records.

The board did not attach contract details or a formal purchase order number in the recorded segments; follow-up procurement paperwork or minutes may provide the official vendor name, exact model and warranty terms.