Supervisors approve motorgrader purchases

Holt County's road department will receive two new motorgraders following approval from county supervisors at the Sept. 30 meeting in O'Neill.

Representatives from Murphy Tractor and NMC CAT presented bids. Murphy Tractor's bid package was for a JD 772G Motorgrader with six-wheel drive and a snow wing, off the state bid, for $487,500, which includes a service agreement for $63,221.

NMC's bid was for a 140-15AWD Caterpillar, with snow wing off the Sourcewell quote, for $432,900, which includes a $17,500 parts credit.

Road superintendent Gary Connot said the service agreement offered by Murphy Tractor is "seven years of service," which includes filters.

"That's an additional ticket than the grader price," Connot said. He added that NMC does include a similar option.

"I don't think it's quite as comprehensive as what Murphy Tractor is offering. There's a lot of value in maintenance and care for performance and resale as well," Connot said.

Supervisor Scott Keyes asked if two machines were necessary now.

"The motion at the last meeting was for two," Supervisor Doug Frahm said.

Supervisor Duane Neiman said when a service plan is added to the NMC bid, both are comparable.

"I think it's close," he said.

The purchase of one machine was included in the budget Connot submitted during the summer.

"We made adjustments to the budget for additional capital outlay items. This could be one of those," Connot said.

Chairman Bill Tielke asked how many graders are needed to fill the fleet.

Connot said one machine has engine issues and another has high hours and is questionable.

Neiman asked if one will be retained as a spare. Connot said one will be, once fixed.

"Keep in mind Darrin (Paxton) has the oldest machine in his district. We gave him a hand me down. Doug's CAT grader has a lot of hours on it. Where it finds a home or how we switch things around will be worked out," Connot said.

The motion to approve both bids was unanimous. Supervisor Josh Treptow was absent.