County Commissioners approve two vehicle purchases

The Adams County Public Works Department will be adding two new trucks to the vehicles in the road maintenance fleet.

During their Feb. 20 meeting, the Adams County Board of Commissioners approved the department’s recommendation purchase two new 2019 Class 8 Model 114SD Freightliner dump trucks from Freightliner Northwest, out of Spokane, for a total of $351,301.22.

Adams County Public Works Director Todd O’Brien presented quotes for seven different models prior to the commissioners’ approval.

He said the quote for Freightliner Northwest’s Model 114SD was the lowest bid meeting all specifications requested from the department, as well as exceeded some of the requirements.

O’Brien said the vehicles will be used to transport hot asphalt mix for road repairs. The trucks will also be used to plow snow on the roadways during the winter.

They will be moved into the department’s vehicle rotation and replace two of the trucks that are 25 years old.

The base bid for both of the trucks was a combined total of $320,552.

The purchase also included $4,426 for installing a piston pump and loading sensing values into both vehicles, as well as $25,964.71 for Washington state sales tax.

O’Brien said the total cost for both vehicles was almost $20,000 under the engineer’s estimate of $370,000.

He explained the department has purchased vehicles from Freightliner Northwest in the past and employees have been pleased with how well the company’s vehicles have worked for the department.

O’Brien noted both trucks will have a Beau-Roc Dump body model.

He said the department does not currently have a vehicle with a Beau-Roc Dump body in the fleet and he is curious to see how having that model will benefit the department’s road maintenance operations.

He said the Beau-Roc model features a double wall and stiffeners mounted to the interior and exterior of the body, which will help its durability.

O’Brien said the department have been outfitting their vehicles with automatic transmissions and it has been working well, specifically when it comes to saving money on vehicle maintenance.

The vehicles will also be outfitted with new technology that will help with safer driving performance and compliance.

O’Brien said Freightliner Northwest will build the complete truck at their facility before they are delivered to Ritzville, which he added would take 150 days after the order is placed.