Town Superintendent of North Judson, Marshall Horstmann, alerted council members that the John Deere tractor that is utilized for utility purposes needs replaced.
During his report at last week’s town council meeting, Horstmann explained that there is a leak in the hydraulic pump on the tractor and the clutch is also going out. He said the tractor is from 1964 and it isn’t worth it to pay to repair the broken parts. Rather than spending money on the old tractor, he attempted to locate a slightly used one that could be purchased to replace it.
One quote for a used tractor was received and the other two quotes were for new models with loaders. Horstmann said he wasn’t initially looking for a tractor with a loader but he said it could come in handy for uses at various times of the year.
“In the wintertime if we’re using the backhoe with the snow box, and then we have to fill the salt box, I don’t have to stop with the snow box to go fill it, we could just use the other one to fill it.” Horstmann went on to say, “If we’re working on a dig someplace and we have to fill the truck with sand or gravel then we could use it instead of driving the backhoe back and forth”
Councilman John Rowe mentioned that he briefly spoke with fellow Councilman Josh Brown prior to the meeting and Brown suggested waiting to purchase the tractor until next year unless the need was immediate.
Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe said there was some concern about whether or not appropriated funds that were set aside would carry over into next year. Councilwoman Jane Ellen Felchuck stated that it’s a common misconception that unused funds are lost and said that they can still be spent in the future.
After realizing that the funds would still be available down the line, Horstmann said that replacing the tractor does not need to be done right away. Councilman Rowe said they’ll definitely revisit the request in the future when the tractor will be more a more necessary purchase.
