02-22-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and Members of City Council FROM: Bill Dircks, Public Works Director DATE: February 15, 2017 RE: Purchase of a John Deere Tractor with Flail Mower The Public Works Department currently uses a 1987 Case 585 tractor with a flail mower on it to mow boulevards throughout the City. The tractor was purchased from Ramsey County in 2001 and has served the City well during its time. It is starting to require extra maintenance and the lack of a cab has caused problems for employees mowing with it in extreme heat and with all of the pollen and other allergy-inducing particles flying around. The lack of a cab also limits the use of the tractor to warmer months. Staff has researched tractors available on the state contract to replace the current tractor. Staff went to the City of White Bear Lake and looked at its 2016 John Deere tractor. While it is bigger than what Little Canada needs it is comparable in what it is used for. White Bear uses it to mow boulevards, aerate, and fertilize in the summer months and it is used to plow alleys and cul-de-sacs in the winter months with a six-way V-plow. White Bear did extensive research in looking for a new tractor and they came to the conclusion that the John Deere was the best tractor available. They raved about how comfortable it is and how well it rides over whichever surface it is on. They had an older John Deere previous to the new one and it worked well for them and maintenance was not a problem. Staff feels that a John Deere 5085M tractor with a cab will offer many more options for using it. A flail mower is proposed to be purchased with it for mowing boulevards. Other possibilities for the tractor include aeration, fertilization, plowing, and putting a loader on it to load salt or anything else. The mower component is a Berti TA/S200 swing mower. It has very sturdy large blades that hold up well under the rough boulevard conditions. It is offset from the tractor to allow mowing close to MNDot right-of-way fences and can mow while at both upward and downward angles to better follow the contours of the boulevards. Staff recommends the purchase of a John Deere 5085M tractor from Minnesota Equipment for the MN state contract price of $61,362.69. Staff also recommends purchasing a Berti TA/S200 flail mower from Minnesota Equipment for the state contract price of $10,074.75. That amounts to a total expenditure of $71,437.44. $75,000 was budgeted for the purchase of a tractor in the 2017 Capital Improvement Fund. Staff plans to sell the 1987 Case tractor and feels it can be sold for $3500.