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Local News

Decision on mini-excavator for Barry County drain work delayed

Several Barry County Commissioners praised Drain Commissioner Jim Dull for his enthusiasm, his working to save taxpayers money, looking at the big picture and the future of the drain system in the county, and generally moving the department in the right direction.

 

However, several commissioners had concerns enough that they tabled his request to get more definitive information on a request he made Tuesday. Dull asked to buy a mini-excavator for up to $42,000 to pull trees and limbs from county drains, improving their efficiency.

 

Dull said he and deputy Drain Commissioner Tammy Berdecia would remove debris from drains for four hours every other week, with him operating the excavator. Independent contractors have trouble finding  time to do such small projects, and it's not financially profitable for them, and renting equipment and hiring an operator is time consuming and about as expensive as a general contractor, he said.

 

An outside contractor charges $110 an hour for the machine, $35 an hour for labor, plus $300 or $400 mobilization costs. Renting would end up costing about $550 for the first hour, he said.

Cost to the county would be $290 an hour, if they had the equipment and they did the work, Dull said.

 

Questions on cost of the unit, who would do the maintenance, what effect it would have on the budget, the cost of training an operator, the effect on liability and workman’s compensation insurance, and how much time Dull would be taken away from his regular administration of the drain office were some of the concerns that led to the delay in a decision.

 

“I want you overseeing things…my concern is we’re leaping into something that we will find out quickly is something we never should have done,” said Commissioner Dan  Parker. “I love your exuberance, but what you are trying to do is not proper at this time.”

Commissioner Heather Wing said Dull was elected to administrate the drain office, not to be a laborer operating equipment.

 

Commissioner Ben Geiger told Dull he was asking for a shift in policy to a more government-centered organization, “where we do the work, and the private sector doesn’t...we haven’t gone through your first budget…show us the line items… show us at budget time where we can save money…”

 

Parker summed it up, saying they needed to learn more, that more information leads to better decisions. The issue will be brought up again no later than the Sept. 5 committee of the whole meeting, and possibly sooner.//

 

In other business, the commissioners recommended approval of the renewal of the Child Care Fund and budget to be submitted to the state by Aug. 15, and the purchase of new kitchen equipment for the Barry County Jail at a cost of up to $32,000, to be paid from the capital improvement fund. The recommendations will be considered at the regular board of commissioners meeting next week.

 

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