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Broadwater County to buy new excavator for solid waste; county to finance purchase internally
Summary
The county approved purchase of a Caterpillar excavator for the transfer station at $139,396 using a Sourcewell cooperative contract and agreed to internal financing at 4.53% for six years, conditional on county attorney review of loan documents.
Broadwater County commissioners on July 30 approved procurement of a Caterpillar excavator for the county’s transfer station and authorized internal financing of the purchase, contingent on county attorney review of loan documents.
Public Works Director TJ Gravely told commissioners the county’s existing excavator is a 1993 model with more than 11,000 hours and has surpassed its useful life. Gravely presented a Sourcewell cooperative contract price and said using Sourcewell streamlines procurement and produced substantial discounts. He said the original sale price of the machine was $216,703; with Sourcewell and manufacturer discounts the purchase price is $139,396.
Gravely described financing options and proposed the county hold the loan internally and charge the solid waste enterprise an annual repayment at a fixed interest rate equivalent to the county’s investment earnings. “The interest rate…is 4.53%,” Gravely said, and the proposed term would run to July 2031. He said internal financing would keep interest earnings in the county. County officials noted contingency language: final loan documents must be reviewed and approved by the county attorney.
Commission discussion covered life expectancy, auctioning of the old machine, and capital replacement planning. Bill Brockie, the county chief administrative officer, provided a planning figure indicating a $200,000 replacement estimate in long-range planning; commissioners said the $139,396 price represents savings versus the plan. Gravely said the county could expect to receive a modest amount from a public auction of the old excavator, estimating around $10,000.
A motion to approve the sole-source procurement justification (Appendix B), the purchase order for $139,396, and internal financing at 4.53% for six years — payable once per year on July 15 — was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The motion included the condition that the final loan documents be approved by the county attorney.
