COUNCIL APPROVES NEW ACQUSITION
VACTOR TRUCK – Needed truck added to city inventory.
The Salmon City Council met in Special Session Friday January 15 and took the opportunity to approve purchase of a $139,000 Vactor Truck.
City Public Works Superintendent Charles Cockrell explained the Vactor Truck is for cleaning sewer lines and clearing blockages. He said the city has needed the truck for some time and one recently became available in Ravensdale, Washington. Cockrell said the city has an employee with experience in operating the machine. A new Vactor Truck would cost around $440,000.
According to the Public Works Capital Outlay Budget the Sewer Fund has a healthy cash balance and can afford the expenditure. It is estimated that by owning the Vactor Truck, in two to four years the Sewer Department will see a savings of $20,000 a year in Roto Rooter service costs.
Councilor Fred Waidely said the machine is currently 14 years old and he inquired about its life expectancy and how many people it takes to operate the Vactor. The truck has been inspected and found to be in very good condition. Cockrell thinks with good maintenance and the amount of use it will get in Salmon it will be good for another ten years or more. As far as parts the seller, One. 7. Company, will be able to supply them. Cockrell estimates it will take a crew of two to operate the truck. He said it will take some training time to completely take over the sewer line cleaning.
Councilor Jim Baker said he was getting the impression Cockrell really wanted the truck and Cockrell said ‘yes.’ He said the last sewer line clog almost didn’t get cleared and this last year he has had trouble getting return calls from service providers. Whether it’s this Vactor Truck or another Cockrell said at some point the city will obtain one because it needs to. Councilor Jim Bockelman said he views the expenditure as a chance to improve the city’s sewer system with monies on hand from the Sewer Fund.
Councilor Neal James made a motion to approve transferring funds from the Sewer Fund to purchase the Vactor Truck. The motion was approved unanimously.