Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Equipment And Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Candler County accepts $460,000 auction guarantee for old graders, authorizes 60‑month CAT lease and approves warranties in split vote
Summary
The Board accepted a JM Wood $460,000 guarantee for surplus motor graders, authorized the county administrator to negotiate a 60‑month CAT lease using the auction guarantee as down payment, and approved two extended warranties for existing graders in a 3‑2 vote.
The Candler County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 16 accepted a $460,000 guaranteed purchase offer from J.M. Wood Auction Company for the county’s surplus motor graders and authorized County Administrator Bryan Aasheim to pursue a 60‑month lease with Caterpillar using the auction guarantee as the down payment.
Commissioners considered multiple options for replacing aging graders, including trade‑in offers from CAT, John Deere, and auction routes. Administrator Bryan Aasheim summarized comparative values and auction guarantees, and described an auction proposal from J.M. Wood that offered $460,000 guaranteed and a formula to split any gross proceeds over $506,000 (90% county / 10% auctioneer). The board voted 4‑0 (Commissioner Jonathan Williamson recused) to accept the JM Wood guarantee and then voted 5‑0 to authorize Aasheim to obtain and execute a 60‑month CAT lease with payments in advance and retained equity at term provided the final terms were consistent with or better than previously presented offers.
The sale and lease votes followed discussion about equipment reliability, term lengths, and fiscal flexibility. Aasheim cautioned against locking the county into long terms that had previously caused mechanical and maintenance issues. Commissioners weighed shorter terms and upfront payments as ways to preserve equity and reduce long‑term maintenance risk.
Separately, the board approved two extended‑service warranty contracts for existing CAT graders (EB200244 and EB200224) at a combined cost of $10,810 to be paid from the General Fund. Administrator Aasheim noted both machines had logged far more hours than the quoted service windows. Vice‑Chairman Blake Hendrix argued that a major repair “could easily exceed $10,000,” supporting the purchase; Commissioners Tre' Ross and Jonathan Williamson opposed the warranties given the near‑term equipment plans. The warranty motion passed 3‑2.
What’s next: The county will proceed to sell the listed machines through JM Wood and pursue the CAT lease proposals; staff will return with final lease terms for execution if they meet the board’s conditions.
