Public‑works staff urged the Board of Alders to approve purchase of a new skid steer after presenting a cost comparison that showed renting similar equipment could cost the city tens of thousands of dollars per year. Staff said a Greene County grant of $30,000 is available to help fund the purchase.

Trevor, the presenting public‑works staff member, told the board that the city’s existing Case skid steer has about 2,100 hours on it and is approximately 22 years old and that a second machine (the “gale” in the record) has 436 hours and is expected to be used about 275 hours per year. Combined, the machines are projected to be used roughly 370 hours a year under current workloads, Trevor said.

Staff presented rough rental cost estimates of $34,000 to $57,600 per year depending on rental terms and delivery fees, compared with annual insurance and maintenance on a purchased unit of roughly $1,500. The presenter said the city incurred a one‑time repair cost of about $1,789 on the existing machine and that an estimate to repair the older Case at an outside shop could be around $12,000; staff said repair was likely not worth the cost and recommended surplusing the inoperable machine with an estimated resale value of $5,000–$10,000.

Trevor told the board a new skid steer list price discussed in the presentation was about $105,000; with the Greene County grant and sale of the old unit the net outlay would be materially lower. Staff estimated that purchasing a new machine could pay for itself relative to rental in under two years based on the presented comparison (staff cited an estimated two‑year savings figure in the packet), and also highlighted operational advantages: no delivery scheduling, availability of high‑flow hydraulic attachments (brush mulchers, cold planer/cold planer for pavement work) and the ability to expand in‑house road maintenance work.

Aldermen asked for clarifications about hours of use, whether projects had been delayed because of equipment failures, and which departments share the equipment (streets and water departments were both cited). Staff said the new machine would reduce rentals, free staff time and enable additional attachments that would expand what the city can do in‑house.

There was no formal vote recorded on the purchase during the meeting’s equipment presentation. Staff said the purchase is within projected budget authority and recommended the board authorize purchase and surplus the older unit; staff noted the grant and resale value would offset purchase cost. The aldermen asked follow‑up questions and the item will be returned for formal authorization if the board chooses to proceed.