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Daniels County approves mower oil-cooler purchase and hires seasonal road worker
Summary
The county approved buying an oil cooler to fix a new mower's overheating problems and unanimously voted to hire applicant Colton Gold Nelson as a seasonal road crew member, actions the road supervisor said are needed to sustain mowing operations through summer.
The Daniels County Board of Commissioners voted to buy an oil cooler for a recently acquired road mower and approved hiring a seasonal road employee, the board heard on Aug. 5.
Road Supervisor Michael Berson told commissioners the new mower has been overheating during afternoon mowing and recommended installing an oil cooler to keep the machine serviceable for peak season. "I would love to stick him in a mower for 2 months," Berson said, describing plans to use the new hire on mowing crews alongside existing staff. Berson estimated the cooler would be a roughly "five five grand" expense and recommended moving ahead now rather than risk equipment failure during the two-month mowing window.
Commissioners moved and seconded purchase authorization for the cooler; the motion carried unanimously. Separately, the board voted to hire Colton Gold Nelson after a motion and second; the hiring motion carried with no recorded opposition.
The discussion also covered related fleet issues: a pickup with a slipping transmission that supervisors said could be deferred until winter, and a possible surplus vehicle the department may obtain for sprayer work. Berson described upcoming changes to the spray program and said the road crew would not use restricted pesticides inside town. Commissioners approved the cooler purchase and the hiring as measures intended to maintain public road mowing and maintenance schedules through the busy summer months.
Next steps: staff will proceed with the cooler purchase and finalize the new hire's pre-employment requirements.
