City halts use of vehicle
By Bert Lehman
In early 2018, with its current bucket truck out of service due to a failed inspection, the city of Clintonville moved up the purchase of a different bucket truck.
That newly purchased bucket truck recently failed an inspection.
Public Works Director Kray Brown informed the Clintonville Streets Committee at its Feb. 28 meeting that the cage on the current bucket truck, which houses the hydraulic hoses and goes up and down the boom when it is raised and lowered, failed.
“Because it failed, it started ripping or tearing the casings off the hoses,” Brown said. “It’s red-flagged. It’s not in use because if somebody would utilize that vehicle and raise that up, all of a sudden guess what, a hose could break and we might be in trouble.”
The bucket truck was inspected before the city purchased it a year ago, and that inspection report did not list any disrepair regarding the boom of the truck, Brown said.
Brown added that he has been in contact with TRL Rents, the company the city purchased the truck from, regarding the failed inspection.
In a Feb. 28 memo to the streets committee, Brown stated, “I feel TRL in their inspection was not forth right and I am soliciting some remediation for repair.”
It is estimated to cost $6,900 to repair the issue that red-flagged the truck during inspection.
“We have less than 100 hours on that unit,” Brown said.
Streets committee member Tammy Strey-Hirt asked if the same company that inspected the truck prior to the city purchasing it is also the company that red-flagged it during its recent annual inspection.
Brown said the inspections were done by two different companies.
Purchase history
The current bucket truck was purchased around a year ago. It replaced the city’s bucket truck that had significant deficiencies and was red-flagged during an annual inspection.
As previously reported in the Clintonville Tribune-Gazette, at the Jan. 2, 2018 Clintonville Streets Committee meeting, Brown informed committee members about the failed inspection the city’s bucket truck.
At the time, Brown said the deficiencies included major cracking on the frame and supports. The bucket on the truck also had holes in it.
He said it was estimated to cost $4,500 to repair the truck, but that figure could increase if more deficiencies were found when the repairs were made.
Because of that, Brown recommended the city replace that bucket truck. He told the committee that a used bucket truck would cost between $25,000 and $40,000. He also said a purchased used truck would be expected to last 10 to 15 years.
Clintonville City Administrator Sharon Eveland shared at the time that the city’s capital budget for 2020 included replacing the bucket truck.
At that Jan. 2, 2018 meeting, the committee advised Brown to find a suitable replacement bucket truck for up to $32,000, and to bring that information back to the committee.
A month later, at the Feb. 6, 2018 streets committee meeting, Brown presented information about two used bucket trucks that he had found for sale.
According to the minutes from that meeting, Brown presented information about a 2008 Ford F-550 with a 45-foot boom and a fiberglass body for $34,400, and a 2009 Ford F-550 with a 45-foot boom and a steel body for $29,995.
The committee eventually recommended moving up the purchase of a bucket truck to 2018 in order to purchase the 2008 Ford F-550.
The information was presented to the Clintonville City Council at its Feb. 9, 2018 meeting before the bucket truck was purchased.