Staff writer
Marion County commissioners chose Monday to purchase three road graders coming off leases rather than lease new graders.
Garrett Clay of Foley Tractor met with the commission to discuss lease options. The graders are 2004 Caterpillar 12 models. Clay prepared leases for three larger, new 140M model graders. Buying the old graders cost the county $115,00 each.
New machines could be leased for anywhere from $1,000 to $3,037 per machine per month, depending on the end-of-lease terms, Clay said. He offered five-year leases with a $145,500 guaranteed buyback per machine.
Leases for graders include an option for the county to purchase the grader at the end of the lease or return it and receive money back — a buyback.
Buying new graders would cost about $219,000 per machine, Clay said.
Road and Bridge Superintendent John Summerville said several graders were in greater need of replacement. The county leases five other graders and owns six.
Some counties have a fixed replacement schedule while others use graders until they break, Clay said.
Commissioners said they were interested in leasing one or more graders to replace the county’s oldest ones. Clay said he would have to recalculate a lease plan without buying back the 2004 graders.
Commission Chairman Dan Holub said the county should consider brands other than just Caterpillar. Commissioner Randy Dallke said he had favorable experiences with John Deere backhoes.
In other business:
- Brandon Huntley, Michael Klose, and Ronald Woerz will join the road and bridge department at monthly salaries of $1,854 each.
- Commissioners met in closed session with Summerville for 10 minutes to discuss personnel.
- Restoration and Waterproofing of Wichita will restore the exterior of the Health Department building for $24,001 and the north courthouse steps for $1,010. Mid-Continental Restoration of Fort Scott bid $16,756 and $1,500 respectively, but didn’t include all the work of Restoration and Waterproofing.
- Fire District 2 will receive matching funds from the county for a $5,000 piece of rescue equipment. The equipment is a series of bags that can be inflated to lift something. Firefighters Larry Jay and Matthew Voth asked the commissioners to split the cost, as the county has for other rescue agencies.
- Watershed Restoration and Protection Services coordinator Peggy Blackman thanked the commission for tentatively budgeting $30,000 for the group’s programs. Cities that get drinking water from Marion Reservoir have been unwilling to contribute, she said.
- Elizabeth Schmidt, director of Harvey and Marion County Community Developmental Disabilities Organization, asked Marion County for $62,000 to support services for disabled people. Marion County had the same amount in its 2009 budget. Harvey County provided $100,000.
- Markley Service of Marion will provide 360 gallons of 2,4-D LV, 60 gallons of Outpost 22k, 256 ounces of Escort, and 60 gallons of Banvel to the Noxious Weed Department for $12,545. Ag Service of Hillsboro bid $13,496.
- At Dallke’s request, commissioners met alone in closed session for 15 minutes to discuss personnel.
The next commission meeting will be Friday morning.