The Andover City Council voted 6-0 on Oct. 28 to accept a bid from Murphy Tractor for a John Deere 325G track skid steer at a price of $74,005.77.

Council discussion and staff presentations explained that the purchase was recommended using the city's scoring matrix for equipment procurement, which factors operator input, price, specification compliance and other weighted criteria. Staff said the city received a trade-in offer that improved the purchase economics and that the wastewater fund had budgeted $50,000 for the purchase while the parks equipment reserve would contribute $25,000.

Rick (identified in the meeting as the public-works lead) said the current older skid steer in parks has increasing repair needs and that replacing equipment before failure is fiscally preferable. The council discussed equipment-sharing practices among departments and confirmed the new unit will be deployed to the wastewater plant while an existing 2020 model will move to the parts department and the five-year-old machine will remain with parks.

A motion to accept Murphy Tractor's bid for the John Deere 325G track skid steer in the amount of $74,005.77 and 99 cents passed 6-0.