Morton board approves street office renovation and multiple equipment purchases

The Village of Morton Board of Trustees on May 19 approved a $532,800 contract to renovate the Street Department office at 450 Detroit and approved multiple equipment purchases for the street division. The board voted to accept the low bid for interior renovations, to buy a Kenworth chassis and associated dump body/plow, and to acquire a new backhoe and tractor, with some purchases including trade-ins and guaranteed buybacks.

The approvals won unanimous votes from trustees present. Director of Public Works Scott Stidman told trustees the renovation is phase one of a two-phase plan that will create office spaces, a break room, locker rooms, restrooms and storage; phase two will move the mechanic and is part of a larger $2.5 million project budgeted for the full build-out. Stidman said the renovation contract includes a $40,000 contingency for asbestos abatement and a $65,000 furniture allowance and noted IT reconfiguration by an outside consultant would be billed separately.

Stidman described the equipment purchases as replacements for aging fleet pieces. The board waived formal bidding for a 2002 Sterling replacement and approved a $133,537 purchase for a new Kenworth T480 single-axle truck and a $127,436 contract for dump body, hydraulics and a snow plow for a tandem-axle unit. Trustees also approved a $99,268 backhoe loader purchase (including a $63,000 trade-in allowance) and a $104,900 utility tractor purchase; the staff said equipment prices have risen substantially in recent years.

Trustees asked about features such as wing plows and hydraulic thumbs; Stidman said some choices reflected operational preferences and ongoing discussions with the interim superintendent. The trustees were told the office renovation received four bids ranging from $532,800 to $578,900 and that the village budgeted amounts for furniture and future phases. The motions for the renovation and equipment purchases passed on roll-call votes.