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Commission tables motor‑grader award after road supervisor raises safety and spec concerns

Natrona County Board of County Commissioners · March 18, 2026

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Summary

After Road and Bridge superintendent Mike described steering and other safety concerns with the low‑bid John Deere motor grader, the commission voted to table the award for two weeks and asked RDO (John Deere dealer) for a written response to technical exceptions.

Natrona County commissioners on March 17 delayed awarding a motor‑grader contract after a lengthy technical exchange between the county’s Road and Bridge superintendent and vendor representatives.

Road and Bridge superintendent Mike told the commission he had tested a John Deere grader offered by the low bidder and that his operators experienced steering and visibility problems that he considered safety risks for the county’s winter clearing operations. "When you get into a snow plowing operation... you can't use that device after you get out of fifth gear... I went and ditched twice and so did my operators," Mike said, listing additional concerns including side‑window wipers, bolt patterns for cutting edges, differential and brake sizing and service intervals.

RDO equipment representatives Jeff Eastwood (general manager) and Jason Camp (regional sales manager) contested some of the county’s comparisons and requested time to address line‑by‑line discrepancies in the technical packet. Eastwood said the RDO machine did include redundant braking systems and asked the county to allow dealer experts to correct factual differences.

Commissioners debated fairness to local bidders, operator safety and fleet commonality. Several commissioners said they trust the road superintendent’s operational judgment but wanted to give the low bidder a chance to respond. Commissioner (speaker 9) moved to table the decision for two weeks with a written vendor response; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

The commission’s action preserves bidding timelines (bids remain valid for 90 days) and requests RDO provide a written response to the county’s 20‑item technical comparison before the next meeting. The matter will return to the commission after vendor responses are reviewed.