Mills County Board approves $102,600 order for new sign/utility truck

The Mills County Board of Supervisors voted to order a new sign and utility truck from an International dealer for $102,600, approving the purchase at its July 7 meeting.

County Engineer Jacob Pearl told the board the county solicited quotes from Freightliner and International and found the two were comparable. “We’re only within about $3,000 of each other,” Pearl said, and the board chose the lowest acceptable International quote. Pearl said the county expects additional outfitting (crane, auger, racks and other sign equipment) will add significant costs and that some outfitting work may be done in‑house to reduce expenses.

Pearl emphasized a safety upgrade on the new chassis: controls will be available in the bucket so the worker in the bucket can operate the boom rather than relying solely on ground controls. “One of the big things that we want to upgrade… the new one has control in the bucket,” he said, noting that feature is not swappable from older trucks.

Supervisor Henry Clark moved to approve the purchase at $102,600 and the chair seconded; the board voted in favor and the motion carried. Pearl estimated the truck should be delivered by Jan. 1 and, after outfitting, likely enter service mid‑year the following year.

The board directed staff to seek competitive bids for the outfitting work and to explore trade‑in or salvage options to offset costs. No additional funding appropriation was recorded in the meeting minutes; Pearl said he will review the budget and identify possible offsets before proceeding with outfitting contracts.