The Carroll County Board of Supervisors voted during yesterday’s (Monday) meeting to approve the purchase of a more than $350,000 excavator for the county’s secondary roads department. According to County Engineer Zac Andersen, secondary roads crews have been using the same machine since the mid-90s, and the maintenance cost is beginning to outweigh the cost of purchasing a new machine. Staff solicited bids from heavy equipment dealers, and Ziegler Caterpillar was selected with a combined bid of $354,900. The bid includes the $347,000 base for the excavator and a $36,900 Krypto Claw attachment that allows the machine to pick up materials, such as pipes or debris. Some of the price is offset by a $29,000 trade-in value offered by Ziegler for the county’s old excavator. The machine, once it is delivered, will be used frequently by the county for ditch work, drain repairs, and other county work. The supervisors voted unanimously during Monday’s meeting to approve the purchase.
