Residents will soon notice a new piece of equipment that can perform a number of summer and winter functions.
The John Deere 1585 Terraincut is a small tractor-like multi-use vehicle which has attachments for mowing and lawnscaping and sidewalk and parking lot maintenance in the winter.
The current vehicle is “in need of substantial repair and parts availability are limited,” said District operations manager Chris Lawrence in a memo to council outlining the purchase process. “These are common issues with this unit, as it has been unreliable and requires a great deal of mechanical upkeep.”
He said it was important to make the purchase now with winter approaching, particularly as the nearly-completed downtown improvement project expands the number of sidewalks to be maintained.
Local vendors were approached for quotes but none met requirements, Lawrence said.
Three quotes were subsequently received from out-of-town vendors with Prairie Coast Equipment of Kelowna being the lowest at $69,320.
“The pricing from Prairie Coast Equipment is under the procurement threshold and does not require a public tendering process,” Lawrence explained.