Board approves $1.7M+ equipment purchases and signs federal aid agreement for Bancroft—5 Forest City resurfacing

Kossuth County supervisors on Thursday authorized the purchase of a new wheel loader and four motor graders and approved a federal-aid resurfacing agreement for the Bancroft—5 Forest City Road.

The board voted 3—2 to 2 to accept dealer quotes for a Cat 950 wheel loader and four Caterpillar motor graders after a discussion about vendor selection and long-term equipment compatibility. The motion to buy the equipment was moved by Supervisor Howard Haas and seconded by Supervisor Garman; roll call was Haas yes, Garman yes, Stecker no, Wachter yes, Nance no.

County Engineer Doug (first name used in the meeting) presented two sets of dealer quotes. The recommended combination was to purchase the loader from Ziegler and the graders from a separate dealer (Ziegler and AllTer quotes were considered); the net purchase prices in the packets were in the low-to-mid six-figure range per unit with trade credits for the county's old equipment. The board discussed trade-in values, long-term operating costs, compatibility of attachments and maintenance intervals, and the difficulty of shopping across brands once a fleet is standardized. A concerned supervisor asked whether non-Caterpillar brands had been solicited; staff replied they had sought quotes from the two local Caterpillar dealers who regularly service county fleets and advised that lifetime maintenance and parts availability were factors in the recommendation.

Separately the board approved a standard Iowa Department of Transportation federal-aid agreement for resurfacing on Bancroft—5 Forest City Road (Highway A42 to P64). The federal share for that resurfacing project is approximately $1.3 million, with the county expected to provide the remaining local share from its Farm-to-Market program allocation. Supervisors also adopted a resolution amending Kossuth County's FY2026 secondary road construction program to add two bridge projects that qualified for federal bridge grants; the resolution passed unanimously by roll call.

Doug told the board delivery estimates vary by vendor; graders showed estimated delivery in late year (December) while the loader lead time was several months. Supervisors noted the county will continue to face equipment backlog and higher replacement costs caused by inflation and supply-chain delays; the board approved the purchases to maintain service levels for road maintenance and snow removal.

The equipment purchase motion and the federal-aid agreement were recorded in the minutes; staff will complete purchase orders and federal paperwork.