Casper City Council OK’s $370.5K in vehicle, radio, equipment purchases

CASPER, Wyo. — With City Council approval, Casper will spend nearly $370,560 for vehicles and portable radios for various departments.

The council gave its unanimous nod to a six-point consent agenda during its regular Tuesday meeting.

Atop that agenda was the purchase of eight Motorola portable radios from Motorola Solutions for $43,945.57. The radios are purchased using the State of Wyoming Motorola Solutions contract, and they will replace units that have reached their end of service life. One Cent No. 16 funds will be used for the purchase, according to city documents.

Also on the agenda was the purchase of a UTV with accessories from Logistics Inc. in Norfolk, Nebraska. The UTV will be used by Hogadon Basin crews for transportation of staff around the ski area, snow-making duties, ski patrol transportation and general maintenance duties, documents state.

The main accessory purchased is a track kit for snow mobility and a light bar.

The city will retire a 2016 John Deere Gator with 9,029 miles. It has spent $25,257 on the UTV’s maintenance, a staff memo states.

The UTV will cost $46,983. The city will use Optional One Cent Funds for the purchase.

The city will also spend $104,179 on a new JCB 3CX-12 compact four-wheel drive backhoe loader for the Cemetery Division of the Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities Division.

Bids on a new compact backhoe loader were opened Aug. 5. Two bids were received. The winning bid was submitted by Ron’s Equipment in Fort Collins, Colorado, coming in $20,000 cheaper than the other bid, from Gillette-based Torgerson’s Equipment.

The city will receive $15,000 on trade-in for a 2004 backhoe with 4,600 hours, according to the bid.

“The cemetery backhoe needs to be compact in size and be equipped with specialty attachments that are conducive to digging graves in tight spaces,” a staff memo states.

The JCB backhoe meets those requirements, it added.

The purchase was approved in the fiscal year 2025 budget, funded by One Cent Capital. The approved budget for the purchase is $130,000.

Another of the city’s purchases will be a new rough-area tractor mower with accessories from Midland Implement Co. in Billings, Montana. The Weed & Pest Division of the Parks, Recreation and Public Facilities Department will use the mower.

Two bids were opened July 17. Midland’s bid with $500 trade-in is $798.01 higher than the bid submitted by Bobcat of Casper, which also offered $500 on trade-in. The city opted for the higher-priced mower because Bobcat’s AT450 mower and attachments “did not meet the specifications on attachments needed,” the staff memo said.

Accessories for the new mower include a 72-inch finishing deck and a tough-cut mowing deck attachment.

The trade-in is a John Deere belly-deck mower that’s 14 years old and has 1,500 hours on it. It’s exceeded its original purchase cost by $1,500 in maintenance costs, the staff memo said.

Weed and Pest funds will pay for the mower. The FY25 budget included $45,000 for the purchase.

For its Refuse Division of the Public Services Department, Casper will spend $46,216 on a new commercial container truck body.

CMI Teco of Casper was the lone bid opened Aug. 1. Funds for the purchase were approved with the FY25 budget, up to $50,000.

The truck body will replace the back of the truck on one of the city’s two commercial container trucks used for commercial trash collection. The chassis of the truck is in adequate condition and did not warrant replacement, city documents state.

The final approved purchase Tuesday is one new heavy-duty cab and chassis 4×4 truck with platform body and accessories from Greiner Ford in Casper. It will be used by the Water Distribution Division of the Public Services Department.

Greiner’s bid of $81,024 before trade was one of two submitted. Fremont Motors submitted the other for $90,550 before trade. Greiner offered $6,785 for trade while Fremont offered $6,180. The net cost from Greiner of $74,239 is $10,131 less than Fremont’s, according to city documents.

The trade-in vehicle is a 2000 Ford F-550 heavy-duty cab and chassis 4×4 truck with a platform bed.

City staff recently found there was no record of approval for the truck’s purchase. Staff believe that’s because of a change in management at Water Distribution during the time of bid opening and ordering, a staff memo states. Although the price has increased to $85,724.56, city staff brought the purchase before the council on Tuesday.

The price also now includes a new air compressor for the truck, which Water Distribution staff opted for over reusing the old compressor.

The memos and the documentation on the purchases are attached below: