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County of Paintearth approves purchase of two new trucks

In what was a rather light agenda, the Paintearth County council held their regular meeting on Jan. 18, 2022.
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(File photo)

In what was a rather light agenda, the Paintearth County council held their regular meeting on Jan. 18, 2022.

The only matter in the business section of the meeting revolved aroung the purchase of two tandem tractor-trucks to replace aging units in the fleet.

Budgeted for purchase in 2022, public works put tenders out at the end of 2021 and only received two back, both non-conforming to county specifications.

The first bid, from Great West Kenworth in Red Deer, met the vehicle requirement specifications, but was over budget by just over $15,000 per tuck.

The second bid, provided New West Freightliner, also in Red Deer, while coming in on budget came in outside of vehicle specification.

For safety considerations, in the tender public works specified that the trucks be provided with automatic transmissions and 560 horsepower to ensure the trucks would have enough power to haul a fully loaded gravel trailer on soft gravel roads during the spring and summer seasons.

The tender provided by Freightliner, while within budget, only provided tenders for trucks with 505 horsepower engines.

“Performance issues can translate into shorter lifespans for the unit, safety issues hauling while loaded in adverse road conditions, and increased shop time in the event of transmission failures,” stated the request for council decision.

After some discussion, council approved the purchase of two Kenworth tractor units for a total cost of just over $250,000, with the over-budget amount to come from restricted surplus.

The total cost includes an extended warranty on truck engines and transmissions.

According to the council request for decision, order wait times are 10 to 12 months from the time of order confirmation.



Kevin Sabo

About the Author: Kevin Sabo

I’m Kevin Sabo. I’ve been a resident of the Castor area for the last 12 years and counting, first coming out here in my previous career as an EMT.
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