July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Board balks at buying new truck

Portland Board of Works

By Rachelle [email protected]

The Portland wastewater treatment plant superintendent will have to settle for his current truck.

Ron Krieg, superintendent of the plant, asked for permission from the Portland Board of Works to purchase a new truck for him to drive. Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier made a motion to purchase the new truck at a cost of $18,776, but the motion died for a lack of second.

Other board members, Bob McCreery and Bill Gibson, felt that the truck did not need to be replaced. It is a 2005 Ford F-150 extended cab with 68,000 miles, Krieg said.

Krieg said the truck has been damaged by hauling stone, and it needs new brakes and some other work. He requested quotes from three local car dealers and received quotes from Moser Motors and Ken Kunkle Chevrolet. Moser submitted a quote of $18,776 for a 2010 Ford F-150, with a 6-foot bed. Kunkle submitted a quote of $22,599 if the 2010 Chevrolet 1500 truck is purchased before June 30, and $22,899 after the deadline. The plan was for the older truck to be given to the city's park department. Jeff Harker, street and park department superintendent, said he planned to use the truck to haul lawnmowers.

In the specs for the new truck, Krieg asked for cruise control, a 6-foot truck bed, power door locks and windows and cloth seats.

McCreery asked why Krieg requested cloth seats rather than vinyl. He said some of the employees could stain the seats with their dirty clothing. Krieg said he won't let other employees into the truck. McCreery also asked why Krieg requested cruise control, when most of his driving is in the city. Krieg said the 2005 truck has cruise control and it comes standard with the potential new truck.

McCreery also was concerned about the future of the potential new truck. "Well the thing the bugs me the most is the 6-foot bed reduces the options to use" it for the park department in the future. Gibson agreed with McCreery.

Krieg said he thought a small truck bed was a good idea because it would be cheaper and would discourage his employees from using the truck to haul heavy materials.

"We're just trying to be as efficient as possible and save money," Hosier said, clearly frustrated with his fellow board members.

Also Thursday, board members voted to pay The Schneider Corporation an additional $13,930 for design work on the amphitheater at Hudson Family Park.

Park board members recently decided to add two towers and a truss across the stage to hold lighting and sound equipment and a back wall to the stage. This addition brings Schneider's total payment for work on phase IV to $111,430.

This phase of the park project is expected to cost about $1,300,000, and the city plans to bond to cover the costs.[[In-content Ad]]
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