Clarkston council votes to repair town grader, keeping option to sell or trade later

The Clarkston Town Council voted to repair the town’s grader and to pursue selling or trading the machine later if that proves necessary. The motion, approved by roll call, directs staff to schedule repairs as soon as a mechanic is available and to keep county and state contracting or a short-term lease as operational backups.

Council member Peterson, Thomas W., who led the roads update, said the grader has been used nine times in the last five years but has needed frequent repairs. “Since I’ve been mayor and the two years as council member of the roads, the grader has never made it through town without an issue,” Peterson said, citing prior breakdowns and a diagnostic estimate by MC Repair that an upper-end repair would be about $9,000 and that a full transmission repair could be $20,000–$30,000.

Peterson and other members described three options: repair and keep the grader in town; sell it as-is for scrap; or repair and then offer it for sale or trade-in toward a newer machine. Matt, the mechanic who provided the diagnostics, told the council the engine sounded good and that transmission failures were unlikely but warned parts availability is a concern for machines of this age. “If the trans needed work it could be 20 to 30 grand,” Matt said.

Council members also reviewed contracting and leasing alternatives. Ben, a State Roads representative, told the council his crew could be dispatched on short notice and quoted a rate of about $120 per hour (including a pilot car); county crews would charge about $150 per hour without a pilot car. Council members noted that having a grader locally provides the fastest response during storms and for clearing emergency routes.

Jared (council member) urged repair for resilience and quicker emergency response: “If an emergency vehicle gets stuck, we need something at a drop of a hat to get it safely out,” he said, arguing local availability outweighs occasional rental costs.

Council members discussed a local leasing option (an out-of-town owner offering to station a grader in Clarkston for a flat winter fee of $3,000 plus $100 per hour when used) and compared long-term costs. Peterson presented a five-year usage and repair-cost summary showing rental costs for third-party services in some years exceeded the town’s repair spending. After discussion, the council voted to repair the unit as soon as possible, with explicit direction that staff pursue selling or trading it later if warranted, and to keep county/state contracting and the seasonal lease as backups.

Next steps: staff will attempt to schedule the local mechanic (Matt) promptly to avoid long lead times, keep the county/state options available for immediate service during storms, and note interest from a private party for a possible future sale or trade.

Source: Clarkston Town Council meeting transcript (topic discussion and roll-call motion recorded between 00:13:00 and 00:27:00).