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Public works says aging fleet, targeted replacements would reduce big repair risks
Summary
Public works director Eric told council that several city vehicles are decades old and cited an $8,000 recent repair estimate; staff proposed replacing two vehicles for roughly $80,000 and identified other capital priorities including a new shop.
Public works director Eric presented council with a rundown of the department's fleet needs, saying some work trucks date to 2006 and have begun failing. He told council that recent repairs can be costly: "today, we had a water, water truck that went in that had a misfire on 1 of the cylinders... it's an $8,000 repair," and described the department's effort to balance replacement timing with available funds.
The staff proposal under discussion would use an $80,000 movable line to replace about two vehicles next year; Eric said the city currently holds $100,000 earmarked for fleet replacements and has considered options ranging from piecemeal replacement to full fleet refresh plans the city received from a rental company (one vendor's model showed a first-year cost around $500,000). Council members pressed on piggybacking state and larger municipal contracts; Eric said the city currently uses state piggyback contracts and sometimes piggybacks on the City of Boise for better pricing.
Council and staff also discussed the specific needs of nonstandard units such as UTVs/mules used by trails crews. Eric noted a state contract price of about $22,000 for a basic UTV but said a more useful spec for the crew would be closer to $33,000. He recommended prioritizing replacements for equipment with high use or mission-critical functions and exploring whether targeted replacements and tighter in‑house maintenance could reduce the risk of "terminal failures" that trigger large one‑time repair bills.
