County Gets New Dump Trucks;
Maintainer; Maybe Fire Truck
Glasscock County commissioners voted Aug. 13 to buy two 2007 Mack CD713 ‘program’ dump trucks, each with less than 30,000 miles for $100,000 each from Bruckner Truck in Odessa. They will replace trucks that are 23 and 24 years old. Apparently, the used ones will be displayed on Bruckner’s lot, and sealed bids will be taken for them.
A second bid on dump trucks was from R.L. Anderson in San Angelo for 2008 International trucks with the same specs for $104,300 each.
The new trucks are 18-yard models, and are heavier duty than the 12-yard models they replace. Commissioner Marck Schafer said he thinks they are overkill on size, but will carry almost 50 percent more per load, so may save on labor costs due to fewer trips per job. Schafer wants designated drivers with Mack truck training assigned to the new trucks, so there is accountability for their use and upkeep.
Commissioners will pay for the trucks out of the current budget by taking $67,000 from road equipment, $40,000 from the lateral road fund, $23,000 from the capital improvements budget, and $70,000 from the Garden City Fire Department equipment budget, depending on a future grant to provide funding for a planned fire truck. (See discussion below.)
Bids to Come on Maintainer
The commissioners also authorized County Judge Wilburn Bednar to advertise for bids on a Caterpillar 120 and 140 maintainer, or the equivalent from another company. The machine is budgeted at $225,000 in the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The machine will be used in Commissioner Mark Halfmann’s precinct, even though he tried again Aug. 14 to find a way to work with three maintainers to avoid the expense of the fourth machine and an additional driver.
With the decision to buy a maintainer, money for an additional driver was added to the next budget.
Commissioner Jimmy Strube insisted that “…a maintainer is not an expense, it’s an asset.” He said in 19 years, he’s never seen the county lose money on a Caterpillar machine. Commissioner Michael Hoch said three maintainers and four bosses won’t work.
Schafer said several times during the truck/maintainer discussions that he didn’t oppose buying the two dump trucks, but was concerned that their cost, plus the maintainer, was going to “…bust our reserves.” He said the combined equipment cost plus operators will be more than half a million dollars, “A pretty good chunk,” he said, “when we’ve been trying to build reserves, and are getting there.”
Fire Truck Grant Application Planned
Commissioners voted to apply for a Forest Service grant to help pay for a new, large brush fire truck to be stationed in Garden City. Strube said he’s been told that the county will be “almost guaranteed” a grant which will pay 90 percent, up to a maximum of $108,000, for a truck, with the county’s part a maximum to $12,000. Sturbe said the grant application deadline is Sept. 1, and John Kinnibrugh is writing it. The truck is to be identical to the St. Lawrence truck, but will have a poly tank rather than steel. If and when the grant is approved, it will take six or seven months for delivery. According to Kinnibrugh, the Forrest Service funding is far from a sure thing.
Bednar reported that Greenwood VFD is interested in acquiring the old Forest Service pumper truck, which Glasscock County has never used and wants to send elsewhere. There was some discussion of how much, if any, of the $10,000 the county spent on the truck could be recouped.