Willmar council OKs snowblower, other large purchases

WILLMAR - The Willmar City Council Monday night approved the purchase of a new snowblower for the Public Works Department at a cost of $158,225 from MacQueen Equipment Inc. of St. Paul through a Minnesota state purchasing contract.
The snowblower is used to widen streets and remove snow and will replace a 1999 unit. Replacement of the older snowblower was expected and $200,000 had been budgeted in the 2014 capital improvement program, but equipment purchases over $10,000 require separate council approval. The Public Works Department will salvage replacement parts from the older snowblower.
Public Works also has a 2007 snowblower.
In other action Monday, the council:
n Voted to replace two garage doors and openers at the Public Works Garage at a cost of $15,381 from Willmar Overhead Door Company. The project was budgeted at $10,000 in the capital improvement program. The remaining $5,381 cost will be covered by transferring funds that were not spent in buying dump trucks.
n Approved a software upgrade for the Public Works fuel system. The upgrade was needed because compatibility issues surfaced shortly after new fuel pumps were installed in 2013. Staff solicited proposals from three firms to correct the problem and recommended approval of the $45,552 proposal from Minnesota Petroleum Service Inc. of Minneapolis.