Brundidge to keep bids open

Published 10:00 pm Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Brundidge City Council met Tuesday, and decided to continue to take bids for a new backhoe for the city to purchase.

The city only received one bid since the last city council meeting, a bid from Thompson CAT of Dothan

The bid was for a 2006 CAT backhoe with 816 usage hours on it at a cost of $34,500.

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Even though the council decided to continue to accept bids, City manager Brit Thomas said the backhoe in question would be an adequate one.

“Situation-wise, it would meet our needs,” Thomas said. “From our perspective, with what we’re paying on the rental backhoe we have now, it would justify buying a backhoe. We’ve had excellent luck with using used equipment.”

The need for a new backhoe is prevalent due to the status of the current backhoe that the city owns.

“Right now, our backhoe is just sitting idle,” Thomas said. “The suggestion I’ve gotten from people who use that kind of equipment is to not spend any money on it, so we haven’t really put a lot of effort into our old one.”

Thomas also said the library construction project was coming along.

“The library is coming along at a nice pace,” Thomas said. “The architect’s pleased so far. He’ll be coming in intervals to make sure everything is OK before we move on.”

Probate Judge Wes Allen was also on hand to discuss the new satellite probate office in Brundidge.

“We’ll be renewing tags and passing out disability parking placards,” Allen said.

The office in Brundidge is located at Brundidge Station and will be open the third Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.