The Starke County Commissioners this week approved a bid to purchase a new mower for the highway department, which is in new of two new mowers because the current equipment has become worn out. However, there are only enough funds in the highway department’s budget to afford one of the mowers, and not the second, so the commissioners would be responsible for the cost of the second.
Scott Dedloff, interim highway superintendent, told the commissioners that the department uses the mowers to mow roadsides during cutting season, and they typically use a five-foot deck for the job. Dedloff presented three bids for a new tractor and mower to the commissioners, and recommended the purchase of a John Deere tractor from the dealer in Knox for $43,335, and a mower deck from NC Power and Equipment for $7875.
The other two bids came in at $41,500 for the tractor with a lower hydraulic capacity than the John Deere model, and the third bid came in at $44,500.
Dedloff explained the tractor could be used to clean up brush as well instead of just summer mowing. The commissioners made a motion to approve the purchase of the John Deere tractor, which was unanimously approved, at a total cost of $51,210.
