Council committee backs staff plan to buy $180,000 skid‑mounted vacuum excavator

The Finance, Economic Development & Regional Affairs Committee voted to forward staff’s recommendation to purchase a skid‑mounted vacuum excavator to the Aug. 11 city council consent agenda. Public Works Director EJ Walsh told the committee the unit would cost about $180,000 and the purchase would be funded from the stormwater/surface‑water small CIP ($150,000) plus roughly $30,000 in restricted swim utility carryover savings.

“We received about 2,000 catch basins in the last five years,” Walsh said, adding that the city’s single full‑size hydrovac truck cannot keep up with the increased number of dedicated facilities. Walsh said the smaller skid unit is sufficient for the recently dedicated infrastructure and is significantly cheaper than buying a second full‑size truck (which staff estimated at roughly $850,000–$1,000,000). He also told the committee the city plans to retain an emergency on‑call contractor for spills and other urgent needs.

Council members asked how often catch basins are cleaned and where sediment is taken; Walsh said the city maintains about 33% of catch basins per year (roughly 12,000 annually) and sends nonhazardous material to a soil recycling facility in Pierce County, while hazardous material goes to a special landfill. Committee member Jack Walsh moved to forward option 1 (authorize staff to proceed with purchase) to the Aug. 11 consent agenda; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.