Allen County commissioners spent nearly $550,000 Tuesday morning to upgrade the fleet of heavy equipment used by Public Works Department employees. Money in equipment funds is sufficient for the purchases.
Both purchases, a motor grader for $134,825 with a trade-in and a 40-ton compactor for $411,471, were from Berry Tractor, Wichita. Berry was the only bid for either.
Berry offered $50,000 for a compactor in use at the landfill since 2005 with about 15,000 hours of use, but commissioners decided, at the recommendation of Bill King, director of Public Works, to keep it as a backup.
King explained that with the new 10-acre cell and an older one that requires attention, it made sense to have both units in house. He said the older one needed some repairs, but that he thought — commissioners were unanimous in their agreement — it was wise to have it available for some duty and as a backup.
Jim Harris, a Berry representative from Fort Scott, told commissioners purchasing the equipment before the first of the year would save the county money, noting new federal regulations that would go into effect in 2011 were expected to increase prices by about 15 percent.
With the motor grader, one purchased in 2004 for $145,949 drew a trade-in offer of $54,000 from Berry. King said he advertised the grader and the only bid for its purchase was $15,555.55, less than a third of the trade-in offer.
Allen County has six motor graders, which are used to maintain about 900 miles of rock roads and to clear those roads after winter snows. The county also has more than 100 miles of hard-surfaced roads.
King said the new bridge that carries traffic on old U.S. 169 over an old channel of the Neosho River near the Allen-Neosho counties line was expected to be opened Friday. Construction started last spring.
Also, he said Allen County Airport’s new heavy duty concrete apron was nearly completed. The concrete replaced asphalt that wasn’t sufficient to carry larger planes after they filled fuel tanks.
COMMISSIONERS said no raises would be given county employees the first of the year, partly because they are unsure how extensive health insurance payments, through the county’s self-insurance program, will be.
They renewed contracts for legal service provided by Iola attorneys Chuck Apt and Bret Heim.
Apt will continue to provide guardian ad litem services for $3,500 a month plus $375 a month for overhead. Heim’s contract to deal with adult misdemeanor cases was renewed at $3,016.66 a month.
