Sedalia council approves coordinated purchase of loaders, trucks and sewer change order to maintain city services

The Sedalia City Council on June 2 approved multiple equipment and vehicle purchases and a contract change order intended to keep city services running and reduce future costs.

Council members voted to accept a SourceWell cooperative quote and purchase a Volvo L70H wheel loader for the Water Pollution Control Division after staff said the truck will replace a machine with more than 17,000 hours of service. The council approved the purchase at a net cost of $204,345 after a 43.6% discount off the list price ($236,345) and a $32,000 trade-in credit; the acquisition includes a five-year, 6,000-hour warranty, staff said.

Staff also presented a Caterpillar lease buyout offer for a previously leased CAT 926M wheel loader. Caterpillar Financial offered a lease buyout price of $72,975; staff proposed using funds allocated for remaining lease payments and savings from the Volvo purchase to fund the buyout, saying the purchase is expected to save the city about $27,500 annually over the machine's remaining service life. Council approved the buyout.

Separately the council accepted the low bid from W.K. Chevrolet of Sedalia for a 2025 Chevrolet 3500 4x4 service truck for the Water Pollution Control Division at $67,521, a figure staff said is below the budgeted amount.

Public Works also presented change order number 1 for the 2024-0009 Sedalia Small Sanitary Sewer Project A, reporting a finalized unit quantity for base rock that produced a net decrease of $103,795 to the original contract. That change reduces the project total from $411,664 to $307,869. The council approved the change order.

Finally, the council approved coordinated purchases for the Public Works Operation and Utility Divisions for five vehicles: two single-axle plow trucks ($528,338.89 total), two multifunction tandem trucks with hook-lift systems ($607,220), and a tandem-axle dump truck for utilities (chassis $160,414 and bed $53,725, total $214,139). Staff said the number of requested units was reduced to help offset higher-than-budgeted costs elsewhere; the purchases will be procured through cooperative contracts with MoDOT and Missouri Buys and the recommended vendors were Premier Truck Group and Henderson Products Incorporated.

Councilmembers cast roll-call votes on each ordinance. Bills authorizing the Volvo loader (Bill 2025-95), the Caterpillar buyout (Bill 2025-96), the Chevrolet service truck (Bill 2025-97), the sewer project change order (Bill 2025-98), and the street/water vehicle purchases (Bill 2025-99) were approved by majority roll-call votes (each recorded as six yes votes with one absence when noted). The meeting record shows Scribner absent for several items.

The council discussion and staff presentation emphasized that the loader replacement, buyout and vehicle purchases were included in the fiscal 2026 budget or would be funded from lease-savings and existing allocations. Staff also noted the Volvo's onboard material-weighing capability would delay the need for a separate drive-on scale, improving compost-site efficiency.

The council approved the purchases and change order during the regular meeting; staff recommended proceeding to finalize contracts and deliveries.