ITEM TITLE:
Approval to Purchase a Mud Cat MC 40E Dredge including Freight in the Amount of $198,896.00
SUBMITTED BY: Rob Comstock, Public Works Director
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: $198,896.00
Unencumbered Balance: $245,000.00
Funding Source: 350-0400-5800
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Purchase of a Mud Cat MC 40E Dredge including Freight in the amount of $198,896.00
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
The purchase of this Mud Cat MC 40E Dredge is a 2021 budgeted item and can be found on the 2021 Major Equipment Schedule under the Sewer Department.
The reason for the purchase of this dredge is to remove sludge buildup in our Sewer Treatment Lagoons. The Sewer Department monitors the thickness of the sludge buildup on the bottom of the lagoons each year and recently it has reached a level that will require removal of sludge to keep the lagoons working efficiently into the future.
There are a couple of options that were considered in deciding the best way to remove the sludge buildup. The first consideration was to have a contractor that specializes in lagoon sludge removal do the work, this is what was done the last time sludge needed to be removed back in 2004, with bids in excess of a million dollars. The other method that is available for sludge removal is to use a portable self-contained dredge which can be operated by City personnel. Due to the high cost of contracting out the sludge removal much research was done on the portable dredge method. A number of dredge manufacturers were looked at and Mud Cat was identified as having a dredge that was not only compatible with our needs but would allow the City to benefit from the company’s government contract pricing. Mud Cat provides on-site training as part of the purchase along with good technical and parts support. While doing the research on the dredges we found out that the City of Palmer, Alaska was using a Mud Cat dredge in their sewer treatment lagoons and City of Valdez Utilities Manager Brad Koch was able to set up a site visit to observe the dredge in action as well as discuss its operation and effectiveness, this proved to be very valuable in our decision making process and ultimately recommending the purchase of this dredge.
There are a couple of items that must get done before the dredge can be put in to use. One of these items is training for the crew so that they can safely and effectively operate the machine, and although a 3-day on-site training from Mud Cat is included in the price, much coordination will be needed to make sure that we have everything ready on our end to make this happen. The other item that needs to be done before the dredge will be operational is an electrical upgrade at the treatment ponds that consists of installation of an electrical transformer and some electrical plugs. Contractor bids for this electrical work came in between $19K and $29K and is included in the 2021 Major Equipment Budget number ($245,000) for this purchase.
After discussions with the Capital Facilities Director and the Finance Director about the purchase of the dredge it was decided that upon City Council approval of this purchase the funds for contracting the electrical upgrades should be transferred out of the Major Equipment Fund and into Projects for 2022. This will assign the project to a Project Manager and will help manage the volatility in both materials and contracting prices.
This is a new-to-the-fleet purchase which will be assigned to the Sewer Department on the Major Equipment list and given a 20 year life expectancy.