City to replace truck, remove trees

Fort Scott City Commissioners on Tuesday heard about issues with one of the city’s bucket trucks, and approved a request to seek a new truck.

Commissioners also approved a project for tree removal at the Fort Scott Municipal Airport, and also heard about a busy year for the Fort Scott Fire Department from Fort Scott Fire Chief Paul Ballou.

The commission approved an authorization for Public Works Director Chad Brown to bid up to $25,000 on a 2010 International or 2011 International bucket truck on an online auction site.

Brown shared photos of the city’s two bucket trucks, one of which was donated from the county. The smaller bucket truck is used on a daily basis but is having issues with the aerial lift unit, which can be costly to repair, Brown said.

“We’re spending more than what it’s worth to us,” he said, adding the lift unit “should have been replaced about 10 years ago.

“But we tried to make dollars stretch as long as possible,” he said.

Brown said he found two International trucks, one a 2010 and the other a 2011, on an online auction site and both are currently bidding at $12,500.

The aerial lift that has issues will be removed from that truck and the city’s truck will be used on a daily basis as the truck is still in good condition.