Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
The Sidney City Council Tuesday gave the green light to the purchase of two new pickup trucks for city departments.
The city council had earlier agreed to the purchase of a service truck for the Sewer Department and the Wastewater Department. In a memo from Water and Sewer Superintendent Rob Kubns and Wastewater Superintendent Todd Sukup, the council was asked for authority to move forward with the purchase of a pickup for each department.
The Council had appropriated $32,089 for the Water and Sewer Department to purchase a ¾ ton four-wheel drive pickup. The new pickup will replace a 1995 Dodge 3500 flatbed inherited from the Electric Department.
The Wastewater Department wants to replace a ½ ton 1995 Chevrolet four-wheel drive pickup that is no longer operable. The Wastewater Department has had the truck since 2003 or 2004, according to the memo.
The news presented to Council Tuesday is one vehicle can be purchased locally for well under the State bid. The State bid for a Ford F-250 XLT came in at $30,204, and a half-ton Chevrolet standard cab four-wheel-drive for $27,293. Panhandle Auto was contacted to see if they could compete with the State bid. For the half-ton, the City was offered a 2018 Fleet/Non-Retail Chevrolet 1500 Silverado for $26,443.60 for an additional savings of $849.40 from the State bid.
The three-quarter ton pickup will take a little longer for delivery. The Panhandle Auto representative said they couldn’t provide a price quote because Fleet Vehicles were in transition to the 2019 model. The 2018 models are no longer in production. However, Kuhns and Sukup did learn the three-quarter ton pickup would cost about $30,204 with a availability of about 30 days.
“To get a local dealer is beyond what we expected,” said councilman Roger Gallaway.
The deal on the three-quarter ton pickup includes the trade of the department’s current pickup for a savings of about $4,000 over the State Bid.
The City also acknowledged two refunds Tuesday totaling more than $110,000. Mike Palmer, representing ACE Public Alliance For Community Energy, presented the city council with a $20,770.46 symbolic check representing the city’s share of the ACE distribution for fiscal year 2017-2018. The ACE Board of Directors voted in their January meeting to distribute $250,000 to its members. The actual payment will be by check or ACH transaction. City Manager Ed Sadler said the payment will go to the General Fund. The organization has returned about $2.1 million to members since 1998, and $137,421 to the Sidney community.
The second source of funds is a $93,000 insurance dividend returned to the city by the company insuring the City’s structures and vehicles.
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