Cookeville Must Rebid For Water And Leisure Services Trucks Again

A second canceled order for dump trucks has Cookeville’s Water Quality Control and Leisure Services Departments asking the city council to rebid.

Water Quality Control Department Director Ronnie Kelly said that the city placed the first order in July and had to reorder after cancelation in November. He said that he was less surprised at the second cancelation.

“Nothing surprises us right now, we’re seeing it in everything,” Kelly said. “When you ask for quotes on pipe and so forth, they may give you a quote that’s good for today but not good for tomorrow. So it’s happening with everything.”

Kelly said that they are hopeful to get a VIN number with the next bid as that will guarantee the equipment. He said that the biggest issue with order cancellations means an uptick in prices.

Kelly said that since it was originally bid in July, the price tag has increased some 20 percent. He said that while they may explore other options, they want to avoid going for used vehicles.

“We had looked at a used backhoe in 2009, and I think it was like $40,000 or $50,000, and all you could do was start it and maybe pull it backward or forwards,” Kelly said. “We need equipment that can run 24/7 365 days a year. And I wasn’t comfortable spending that much money on a used piece of equipment that we couldn’t check out and that’s what you’re going to get.”

“So we buy new equipment but then we stair-step it down into non-critical use until it reaches its end of life and then we sell it. So we think that’s the best course of action for us.”