After seeing public works’ one-ton diesel truck showing signs of wear and tear through constant use, administration posed to council a couple of options to solve the problem.
Two quotes were received in time for Coronation’s council meeting on Wed. Oct. 13.
After consulting McKenzie Motors for additional quotes, the scope of work is different from what was presented by the last mechanic.
McKenzie Motors suggests that the issues relate more to a fuel pump and recommend replacing the fuel pumps first.
This includes the injection pump, filter housing, lift pump, and other items.
The one-ton truck is used in the seasonal periods to water flowers during the summer and hauling equipment to sand in the winter months.
The truck is well used and would require to be replaced or repaired for the winter season.
“Currently, we do not have another piece of equipment that can be used for sanding the streets since the load would be greater than our other trucks can handle,” said Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Quinton Flint.
The other major impact to consider is the dull axel and single axel. To replace this truck could be anywhere between $65,000 to $120,000 for a new truck depending on the type, make, year while a secondhand truck would be estimated at around $30,000 to $65,000 and up.
Council agreed to fix the 1996 truck by going with McKenzie Motors for $4,000 approximately as CAO Flint shared that replacing it currently would not put the town ahead as it has quite low mileage.
“At the end of the day it’s still a pretty solid truck,” said CAO Flint.
Coun. Brett Alderdice agreed saying “I think we should fix it. I mean it should still run but we should start shopping and stockpiling in the future and maybe we can get a few more years out of it.”
Administration will keep eyes open for a second-hand truck to replace this one in the future.
Christmas passports
At council’s last meeting held on Sept. 27, council requested that the prize amounts for the Coronation Christmas Passports program be brought back to the council for further discussion.
Council also asked that the program outline be provided at the next meeting of the council.
All the items in the bundle can be made in-house with our equipment and will help to keep the program’s cost to a minimum.
The idea is to ensure that the program isn’t expensive for the municipality to implement and administer but still looks professional and clean.
Council approved the Christmas Passport program and will now be distributed to businesses within Coronation, provided they wish to participate in the program as an opt-in.
The goal of the program is to entice community participation whether that be in the form of businesses donating whatever they choose or participants spending money locally.
“We want to make participation as high as possible,” said CAO Flint.
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
