City to purchase new mobile steamer
City council decided at its May 25 meeting to amend the annual capital budget to provide $495,000 for a new mobile steamer.
City council decided at its May 25 meeting to amend the annual capital budget to provide $495,000 for a new mobile steamer.
Administration will be putting out the tender for the mobile steamer. Funding is being provided by the federal Gas Tax Fund.
“Mobile steamers are a crucial piece of equipment for the work of the Water and Waste Services Department,” says the administrative report provided to council.
“Mobile steamer unit 6619 was purchased in 1982 and was scheduled to be replaced in 2021. A structural failure occurred in January 2020 that cannot be repaired and the unit is no longer usable.”
Council also made a handful of contract awards May 25, including an award of $229,633 for the purchase of crushed aggregate from Skookum Asphalt to be used for sanding roads in the winter.
A contract worth $174,933 was awarded to NSC Minerals for the provision of road salt.
Comments (3)
Up 0 Down 1
Billy Grant on Jun 8, 2020 at 3:22 am
The city seems to want to hire consultants, buy new up to 1/2 a mil and yet won't spend $10,000.00 for a pump and wild-fire hose for dump to Porter Creek proper.
No, we'll have Bill tell us during the next dump fire that it may require 2 million dollars worth of trucking to put this uncontrollable blaze out. (scratches head).
Up 3 Down 0
Justin on Jun 7, 2020 at 9:11 am
Hello folks,
Max, just a short response to your comment on this one.
While I too have a problem with government largess in the areas of frivolous expenditures, this is not one of those times.
The mobile steamer units used by COW and YTG, are not at all like the “steamer” units in your local car wash. They are specialized units that actually produce steam, under pressure. To that end they are heavily constructed, and require special training and certification to operate in a safe manner.
As with all heavy equipment, there is a life expectancy of all components, as well as the overall unit. The fact that the COW operators were able to pull 38 years of service out of this particular unit, is a testament to their knowledge of how to keep it working.
If the new unit should get the same service life, it will cost roughly $13,000 a year in capital write downs. Some of our government employees cost more than that in lost time each year... maybe that puts it in perspective. And in this case, I will actually support the safety card. The people operating this unit are not required to get themselves hurt because you think they’re “wanting a shiny new toy”. I would like to see the old unit, up close, to see what the structural failure was. But that is simply a matter of curiosity, to see what failed and how, not to create an argument.
Have a great day everyone, stay safe.
Up 1 Down 7
Max Mack on Jun 5, 2020 at 1:01 pm
I'm sure glad CoW has tons of money to splash around and spend like drunken sailors. Where is the oversight? Where is the fiscal prudence? Where is the care for the taxpayers who ultimately must pay the bill?
"structural failure . . . cannot be repaired and the unit is no longer usable" translates to "we want a shiny, new toy"?