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Board reviews 2026 roads and equipment capital list, discusses new vehicles, mowers and chipper
Summary
The Board reviewed staff recommendations for 2026 capital projects focused on roads and equipment, including replacement of an aging engineer tech vehicle, adding a wastewater commuter vehicle, replacing two parks mowers and one wastewater mower, and reintroducing a chipper purchase removed from last year’s list.
At its May 27 meeting the Village of Jackson Board of Public Works reviewed proposed 2026 capital requests for roads and equipment and asked staff questions about priorities, costs and funding.
Director of Public Works Jack explained one engineer tech vehicle (a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 with about 95,000 miles) is “getting tired and needs to be replaced.” He proposed selling an underused Buick and the current engineer vehicle and applying proceeds toward a replacement estimated at roughly $30,000. “We would sell the Buick, use any funds that we would obtain towards the purchase of a new engineer tech vehicle, sell the current engineer tech vehicle… I'm estimating approximately $30,000 for something potentially new,” Jack said.
Board members pressed on options such as leasing instead of purchasing; Jack said leasing is worth evaluating and that municipalities sometimes lease vehicles. Staff also discussed adding a compact commuter vehicle to the wastewater fleet to cover seasonal staffing needs.
On grounds equipment, Jack proposed replacing two parks mowers (one with about 1,370 hours and the other about 1,200 hours) and a wastewater mower with roughly 1,800 hours. Estimated prices for new mowers ranged from about $13,050 to $17,050 depending on configuration; a larger wing mower option was estimated near $30,000. Jack explained keeping one replaced mower as a spare would reduce downtime during maintenance cycles.
The board discussed the chipper, which was on last year's list but removed; staff said it has about 2,000–2,100 hours, is heavily used and should be reinserted into capital requests because failure could approach costly repairs. Trustee discussion noted some items could be funded from cash, while general-fund projects might be deferred depending on overall budget priorities; staff said Ehlers would reassess funding tools and the village will present a comprehensive list to the village board in June.
No specific purchase motions were made; the discussion will inform the 2026 budget process.
