Thompson Local News

City To Purchase New Tandem Gravel Truck

Other than Mayor Fenske's replacement on the grant-in-lieu committee, the "hot" button issue from city council last week was the resolution to approve the recommendation to purchase a new tandem gravel truck.

 

The recommendation is that the truck be purchased from Maxim Truck and Trailer, as their tender fell within the budget figure, and was just over $1,000.00 less expensive than the next company vying for the City's business.

 

The resolution was passed by a vote of six to three.

 

Councillor Duncan Wong was one of the three councillors to vote against the $183,901.12 purchase, saying that the reason for purchasing the new truck should have been avoided.

 

Wong said that by regularly washing the truck and other preventable maintenance, the city wouldn't have to replace it.

 

He added that he owns and operates some older machinery that still "works like a charm" because it's taken care of properly.

 

Deputy Mayor Kathy Valentino responded to the comments, saying that she's sure they do regular maintenance on all city vehicles. She also added that this resolution is a part of the budget, which has been discussed by council since last fall.

 

City Manager Gary Ceppetelli echoed the Deputy Mayor's sentiments, saying that the financial plan for the City of Thomson has already been approved by council, and that the purchase of the new truck was included in that process.

 

Councillor Judy Kolada, one of the other councillors to vote against the resolution, said that the city shouldn't be replacing equipment just because it reaches a certain age and that she would be siding with Councillors Wong and Matechuk, since they both own and operate similar equipment.

 

Councillor Matechuk's objection to the purchase was that there had been no input from the City's Public Works committee, a comment quickly countered by both Councillor Colleen Smook and Mayor Fenske.

 

Before the resolution was put to a vote, Mayor Fenske addressed all in attendance and repeated what the City Manager and Deputy Mayor had already stated, that this wasn't a new topic and the resolution is just a formality.

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