HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/23/1979 4111* 41111 CITY OF WATERLOO, IOWA
City Hall 715 Mulberry Street 50705 (319) 291-4312
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OFFICE OF CITY ENGINEER Raeph W. AndeJOn, P.E. , City Engtneen.
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July 23 , 1979 9002
A72379
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City Hall
Waterloo, Iowa
RE: PURCHASE OF A HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED EXCAVATOR
Gentlemen:
This past spring our department has received numerous requests to clean roadside
ditches, clean existing creek channels or watercourses, and requests to perform
other routine maintenance items requiring excavation. We have also investigated
the cost of doing some major channel cleaning in Blowers Creek. In order to
accomplish any of the foregoing, the City would either have to rent the equipment
or hire a contractor to get the work done because the City does not own the
requisite type of equipment. The high cost of equipment rental or the total
cost of contracting this work led us to investigate the advantages of purchasing
a piece of equipment capable of doing these jobs.
Because of the range of the maintenance projects covered by the requests from the
citizens we realize that several of the City departments could use this type of
equipment. We contacted the Street Department and they informed us they could
use it for ditch cleaning, general excavating, repair frost boils, pavement removal,
culvert cleaning, performing jobs now done with a small crane, and they could also
use it for loading snow. The Sewer Department can use it to repair broken sewer
lines, cleaning the outlets of storm sewers, maintaining the outlet channels from
the flood gates, and it could be used for minor levee repair work. The Park De-
partment could use this piece of equipment to construct drainage channels, repair
drainage channel berms, general excavation, and maintaining creek channels. The
Water Pollution Control Department could use this piece of equipment to remove
sludge and load it in the trucks for disposal. Based on the foregoing list of
uses, I think that a very conservative estimate of use for the excavator would be
six months of every year (this is using the equipment every other working day) .
I think that a more realistic estimate of use would probably be nine months of
every year, or 1,560 hours of use per year. At the present rental rate of $50 to
$55 per hour for comparable equipment and using the equipment approximately 1600
hours per year, and approximately 15 months of rental, the City would expend the
cost of this piece of equipment.
Honorable Mayor and City Council Page -2-
July 23, 1979
We have received proposals from Herman M. Brown Company, representing Bantam
Division of the Koehring Company and from Case Power and Equipment, representing
Drott Division of J. I. Case Company. These proposals are for rubber-tired,
self-propelled, hydraulic excavators, and represent the only two manufacturers
presently making such a piece of equipment. We have reviewed both proposals and
compared the two pieces of equipment. While the two excavators are not equal,
they are similar.
On the basis of our evaluation and comparison, we recommend that the City purchase
the Bantam S-155 "Hoekruiser" Hydraulic Excavator from the Herman M. Brown Company.
The purchase price for this piece of equipment will be $92,000.00 (the purchase of
this excavator can be funded from monies available in the Dry Run Creek Flood
Control Bond Fund and in the Storm Sewer Bond Fund) .
One distinct advantage of buying the Bantam Excavator is the fact that this
particular piece of equipment is made in Waverly, Iowa. Not only would there be
available expert help should a major maintenance problem arise, but the factory
also maintains an extensive supply of maintenance and repair parts.
The equipment distributor, the Herman M. Brown Company, has indicated we could
get delivery of the excavator within thirty to forty-five days. This will leave
sufficient time this year to clean and realign that portion of Blowers Creek
from Woodland Terrace Mobile Home Park south to Lafayette Street. I recommend
that this be the first project on which the excavator is used.
Sincerely,
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Ralph W. Anderson 1
City Engineer
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