Pittsburg commission approves sanitation truck, $2.1 million fire ladder and 10-year gas franchise; waives bids to remove wet sludge

The Pittsburg Commission on Tuesday voted to approve purchases of a 2026 Freightliner sanitation truck and a replacement fire aerial, renewed the city's natural-gas franchise agreement for 10 years and authorized a limited contract to remove wet sludge from the wastewater treatment site.

The approvals came during the commission's consent and regular agenda items at its June 10 meeting. Commissioners also voted to waive competitive-bid rules for trucking sludge offsite and set an upper contracting limit of $50,000 to keep a wastewater treatment project on schedule.

Commissioners moved first on the consent agenda and then approved a staff request to buy a 2026 Freightliner 25-yard sanitation truck from Elliott Equipment Company for $258,900. City public-works staff told the commission residential routes now total roughly 2,600 stops and about 2,900 total stops per week, and said the additional vehicle would both expand capacity and serve as a backup when other trucks are out of service. Commissioner Stew moved to approve the purchase; Commissioner Cheryl seconded and the motion passed by voice vote.

The commission next authorized staff to purchase a Pierce Velocity aerial apparatus and associated equipment at a price of $2,100,006.36 and to begin the formal bid process to finance the purchase. A department presenter described the vehicle as a replacement 107-foot aerial, saying the truck now assigned to Station 3 will be 20 years old at delivery and would move to reserve status. "What we're looking at is a replacement aerial. It's a 107-foot stick," the presenter said. Commissioners discussed financing options and said staff plans to set aside funds over the next three years so lease payments will not outlast a 10-year public-safety sales tax currently designated for such purchases. Commissioner Stew moved to approve the request; Commissioner Doc seconded and the motion passed by voice vote.

On utilities policy, the commission approved Ordinance S11-O7, a renewal of the city's natural gas franchise. City staff described the ordinance as a routine renewal of the existing franchise; the draft limits the new term to 10 years rather than the 20 years reportedly sought by the utility. The motion to approve Ordinance S11-O7 was moved by Commissioner Stew and seconded by Commissioner Cheryl; it passed by voice vote.

Separately, city wastewater staff asked the commission to waive the city's bid policy for trucking sludge from drying beds that have been repeatedly saturated by rain. Staff estimated about 4,000 tons need removal and said city crews had been unable to complete the work because the material remained too wet. Staff requested a bid waiver to contract with a vendor familiar to the city at an hourly trucking rate staff said is about $125. The commission approved a motion to waive the bid policy and then approved contracting with the vendor "up to the point of $50,000," moved by Commissioner Doc and seconded by Commissioner Chuck. Staff said it would return to the commission if costs reached that cap.

The meeting also recessed for an attorney-client executive session to discuss a potential lawsuit, pursuant to KSA 75-43-19(b)(2). Commissioners recessed and later returned; no votes were taken in executive session.

No roll-call tallies were recorded in the public record for the individual motions reported here; the minutes record that each item passed on voice votes after motions and seconding statements.

The commission adjourned after returning from executive session.

Quotes in this story are taken from the meeting transcript and attributed to the speakers listed below.