The Gering City Council gave approval to several bids for equipment and work needed to city property, but not without some lengthy questioning about one of the bids.
The city Parks and Recreation Department asked the council to approve $89,684 for a new Toro wide area mower from a Colorado firm, which was more than $20,000 higher than the bid for a John Deere mower through 21st Century Equipment.
Parks Director Amy Seiler explained why staff considered the more expensive mower as the best responsible bid. “John Deere does have some newer technology, but our experience has been that we use half as much fuel with our Toro mowers versus our John Deere,” said Seiler. “We also have considerable repair costs on our John Deere mowers. We’ve had some pretty major issues with several of our John Deere mowers, and we believe that the Toro mower is just a better fit to mow sports turfs.”
The council ultimately voted in favor of the higher bid for the Toro mower on a vote of five to two, with Cody Bohl and Rebecca Shields dissenting.
The council also approved purchases of new side dump and gooseneck trailers for the Sanitation and Transportation Department, a new sewer jet for the Wastewater Department, and approved a nearly $63,000 bid from Schank Roofing for hail repairs to the roof of City Hall.
All of the purchases were included in the city’s budget for the coming year, and the funds for the roofing project come from the city’s insurance payout following hail damage caused earlier in the year.
