Bids approved for Secondary Road plow truck and equipment

     A couple of items were approved by the Jones County Supervisors during their Jan. 3 board meeting concerning a new plow truck for Secondary Roads.

   One bid was received and awarded for tandem truck chassis: GATR Truck Center for $143,857.

   County Engineer Derek Snead said he received two bids for the same piece of equipment last year.

   "Generally, we've had two to three bids the last several years," he said.

   The Engineer's Office just received the last truck they purchased two weeks ago. That chassis was purchased for $127,000.

   "The last six to seven years, there's been no substantial increase," Snead said of the purchase price.

   Secondary Roads' Mechanic Cameron Sorgenfrey said there was no reason to think GATR would impose a price increase before receipt of the truck.

   "We're at the point where things are starting to flatline," he said of inflation.

   Snead told the board it would be six to eight months before the truck was delivered. He said if a price increase were imposed by GATR, it's just the cost of doing business.

   "They have to stay in business, too," he said. "It'd be unfortunate if we have to pay more."

   The purchase price, though, Snead shared, is less than 5 percent of the contract price.

   "It's a cost savings from the contract," he said, noting an increase in the cost of steel, from 200 to 300 percent.

   "The vehicle market itself has changed," commented Supervisor Joe Oswald.

   Snead said a number of bid packets were sent out to various vendors. With Secondary Roads not making many changes, if at all, to the specs for their trucks, only so many companies fit the bill.

   "It's a special niche with our trucks and the set-ups," he said. "It’s not like there are a dozen players out there."

   The board also approved a quote from MacQueen Equipment at $156,551.98 for a dump body and snow plow equipment for the truck chassis. The specs on that bid remained pretty much the same as in past years, with a minor change to the hydraulic system.

   The Engineer's Department has been designing and putting together their own trucks since 2016 as a cost-savings measure.

   As a cost comparison, in 2016, the same equipment was just under $90,000.