Elliot Lake needs a new sidewalk tractor and ribbon blower.
The city's Director of Public Works, Daryl Halloch, put out his proposal to buy a new unit from Work Equipment Limited at the virtual meeting of City Council on Monday night.
The price of the unit is $140,695 plus tax. Council approved the purchase of the new unit which will replace one that is 18 years old and has outlived its usefulness.
In his recommendation to Council, Halloch wrote, "The Works Department owns and operates four articulating sidewalk machines. The units perform numerous critical maintenance tasks throughout the community from sidewalk snow clearing and sanding to sweeping and summer parks maintenance.
"Each unit is designed to work with a variety of interchangeable task specific implements.
The current sidewalk vehicle inventory includes one similar 2003 unit which now needs extensive fuel and exhaust repairs. That's one which Halloch will sell on an online website. There are also two other units which went into service on the streets of Elliot Lake in 2009 and one that went into service in 2017.
Halloch continued, "The ribbon blower is a newer design and performs exceptionally well in heavy snow and ice pack.The addition of this type of implement will enhance the snow moving capability of the department significantly.
"Two firms submitted bids. Submissions were (also) received from CUBEX with a proposal to provide a hydro-statically driven articulating unit and trackless with a Tier 4 compliant unit which is a refined version of the existing units," concluded Halloch.
An evaluation committee consisting of equipment operators, maintenance personnel, and management rated and scored the machines based operational assessment, price, safety features, compatibility with existing implements.
The higher bidder was for $151,675 from CUBEX compared with $140,695 for the recommended unit. The lower successful bid from.Work Equipment Limited is $3,589.00 over budget which will be covered from Elliot Lakes fleet reserves.