Renfrew Town Council kicked off their return from summer break by approving a big purchase.
Director of Infrastructure and Public Works Connor Jamieson let councilors know on Tuesday, August 8th, that three companies put bids out to replace an important year-round piece of town equipment.
The combined price for the new Holder C70 tractor from Karcher Municipal North America came in at $210,752, which is within the town’s budget for the purchase and comes with attachments for snow removal like a 50-inch snow blower with sidewalk chute, a 5-way snow plow, a rear drop sander unit with a dump hopper, and a boom flail mower for summertime use.
Once the new tractor comes in, Chief Administrative Officer Rob Tremblay says it will immediately replace one of the two units currently used by the town as it reaches past its expected end-of-life.
The old tractor is expected to be sold off as surplus, but could also be held onto in the short term as council decides on the need for a third unit when setting out next year’s budget.
However, both Tremblay and Jamieson were quick to douse expectations by noting that the outgoing tractor will not likely be part of the active fleet going forward.
The Town of Renfrew has almost 50 kilometers of sidewalk and multi-use track, of which nearly 35 kilometers are maintained by plow services over the winter.
(written by Kasey Egan)
