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2-year-old trailer fails to meet Clintonville’s needs

Interim public works manager asks to replace it

By Bert Lehman


Heading the list of items Clintonville’s interim public works manager asked to declare surplus is a trailer that was purchased less than two years ago.

Mike McCord told the Clintonville Streets Committee at its June 27 meeting that the trailer was purchased with the intent to haul a variety of pieces of city equipment.

“What I have found in my short time of being here, with this trailer, is that it’s not conducive to hauling all the equipment that it was intended for,” McCord said.

McCord said the type of trailer the Public Works Department needs is a deck-over trailer, which is a type of trailer that does not have wheel wells.

“We have limitations right now with the width of what you can drive on and off of this trailer,” he said.

He said the trailer is in good condition, and the city could sell it for a good price.

“You’re not going to get every penny back, but I think you’re going to get good money for this trailer because the condition of it is excellent,” McCord said.

At a December 2017 streets committee meeting, former Clintonville Public Works Manager Kray Brown said the department needed a new trailer to haul the city’s skid steer. The trailer purchased at that time replaced a 1961 trailer.

If the trailer is classified as surplus, as McCord requested, the city would need to purchase a new trailer to replace it, McCord said.

“I think we could probably pick one up for about $12,000,” McCord said. “Selling this, we’d probably only have $5,000 into the new one.”

McCord placed priority on purchasing a new trailer that can haul all of the city’s equipment.

“I think it would be very valuable to have the proper trailer,” McCord said. “I think there was just not enough thought given to this (current trailer) because we are so limited to what we can do with it.”

The committee recommended the Clintonville Finance Committee deem the trail surplus along with several other items.

Other surplus requests

McCord asked the committee to declare a 1988 single-axle dump truck surplus.

He said the city still occasionally uses it to haul snow and gravel, but it is becoming more difficult to drive the truck.

“Right now we’re not using this, so we might as well declare it surplus and try to get some revenue for it,” McCord said. “We have other trucks that we can use for hauling snow and for hauling gravel.”

The city also has a number of parts for Toro lawnmowers that he requested be declared surplus.

“Before we got rid of the Toros, they would buy extra parts so we could always keep everything serviced and moving,” McCord said. “We didn’t have to wait to order things.”

This resulted in the accumulation of parts. The city no longer uses Toro mowers.

“There are some places that we know that have these types of Toros, that may be interested in this equipment, these supplies,” McCord said. “So we’re asking that it be declared surplus and we’ll get what we can for it.”

McCord said city personnel have tried to sell these items in online auctions. They had less success compared to the time spent to list the items for sale.

With the recent purchase of a new paint striper for painting lines on the streets, McCord asked that the city’s old paint striper also be deemed surplus.

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