County buys dozer for landfill

PRESCOTT – In a special meeting of the Nevada County Quorum Court Thursday, it was decided to buy a new bulldozer for the Nevada County Landfill.

The meeting began late as the court waited for members who arrived after the scheduled start. The lone item on the agenda was the purchase of the bulldozer from Riggs Caterpillar of Texarkana. This is a used piece of equipment coming from Odessa, TX, but will be examined at the Texarkana facility. The purchase price is $312,000, for the 2016 D6T dozer. The dozer has a covered cab and has heat and air conditioning.

Ricky Reyenga, Nevada County Treasurer, informed the court the county had $573,000 left in the America Recovery Plan Act funds after buying computers for the courthouse and new jury chairs. After the purchase of the dozer, there will be $261,000 left.

Nevada County Judge Mike Otwell, said the dozer will be purchased through Sourcewell to get the best price. He added a detachable trailer is needed to haul the dozer from place to place. A new one, he told the court, would cost around $60,000, so he’s looking for a used one. JP Kenneth Bailey suggested the county go ahead and buy a new trailer as it’s not known what kind of shape a used one would be in or how long it would last. A new one, Bailey said, would pay for itself.

Otwell continued, saying the county also needs to buy a couple of gravel trucks and has a lead on where some could be bought. The gravel trucks could run between $60,000 and $70,000 each.

He told the panel the new bulldozer will have a one-year or 1,000 hour power train and hydraulics warranty. The dozer being used at the landfill will be let out for bids with the funds to be used toward the new one. However, if no acceptable bids come in, the old dozer will be used as a trade-in for the new one.

The  court also decided to put a plaque on the new dozer in memory of Wayne Ghourley.