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Item No. 7J <br />Meeting Date: March 13, 2006 <br />Type of Business: CB <br />WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; <br />CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br /> <br />From: Steven Dazenski, Supervisor of Parks Department <br /> <br />Item Title/Subject: Resolution 6770 Approving the Purchase of a <br />Replacement Mower for the Parks Division <br /> <br /> <br />Background: <br />In May of 2001, the City purchased a Toro 580 D Groundsmaster mower. This <br />mower has been used to perform the mowing of the parks and athletic fields <br />located in the City, approximately 140 acres. <br /> <br />This mower has developed problems in the hydrostatic drive that would require <br />an extensive repair to put it into a reliable working condition. It is no longer <br />dependable and has therefore reached the end of its economical useful life cycle. <br />This mower has been scheduled for replacement in 2006 and monies have been <br />allocated in the 2006 budget for its replacement. It is currently in a usable <br />condition because of the City’s maintenance program and therefore retains a <br />salvage value. <br /> <br />This mower also has other limitations that reduce its usefulness. These include <br />having two-wheel drive, as opposed to four-wheel drive, it also has a factor that <br />limits the mowing that can be performed during the rainy weather. Having belts <br />driving the blades and decks that do not pivot to accommodate berms and hills <br />without turf scalping. <br /> <br />Since 2001 when the City purchased the Toro 580 D mower, a new generation of <br />mowers far better adapted to address the needs of the City have been <br />introduced. These new mowers utilize design features that make them more <br />versatile and useful. <br /> <br />Staff has performed an extensive study and evaluation of mowers that are <br />designed to meet our needs. The Jacobsen HR 9016 mower has proven to be <br />safe, dependable and user friendly. It will be able to perform our mowing tasks on <br />wet hillside areas due to the 4 wheel drive capabilities and the pivoting decks <br />should make scalping almost non-existent. With the direct drive hydraulic motors <br />on the decks there will not be any belts to adjust or replace, saving countless <br />man hours in maintenance that can better be utilized in other everyday duties.