Mason council authorizes $6,128 purchase of line-striper from HD Supply

The Mason City Council on May 5 authorized the motor vehicle pool purchase of a Line Laser 3,400 line striper from HD Supply for $6,128.19, using funds from CIP MVP 2.

Mayor Whipple moved to authorize the purchase. The motion was seconded and, after discussion, the council voted 7-0 in favor.

Mayor Pro Tem Clark expressed concern over the price and vendor selection, saying she was unfamiliar with the equipment and that "$6,000 seems like a lot of money" for what she described as a "walk behind" unit. She asked whether paying approximately $253.44 more to buy from a Michigan distributor would make sense for maintenance and parts access.

The City Manager and Mayor described the unit as a manual "walk-behind" model that would make pavement marking more efficient than the city's current hand-spray method. The Mayor noted that Graco manufactures these units and that distributors collect payment and arrange shipment from Graco rather than necessarily shipping from Atlanta.

Council members also asked whether an enclosed trailer and associated tie-downs and decals were included; the City Manager said the total budget for the project included three categories, that an enclosed trailer purchase agreement has already been executed under a separate contract, and that the trailer purchase would not trigger an additional $5,000 procurement threshold for the same contractor.

The authorization passed unanimously, recorded as 7-0.