Today's Feature

Rental and Equipment Discussed.

The City Council Public Services Committee met on Monday evening in a regular session. The committee approved a motion to recommend to Council a contract with the County court system for rental of a portion of the basement of City Hall for the purpose of storing court records. City Administrator Tom Short said that the area to be rented is approximately 900 square feet, and the rental cost per month would be $315.

The committee also made a decision concerning bids for golf course equipment. Through the Budget committee during this fiscal year’s budget hearings, the Parks Department received funding for the first year payment on a 5-year lease/purchase program for all of the equipment needed to maintain Municipal Golf Course. This equipment includes the fairway mower, wide-area mower, bunker rake, tee mower, trim and surrounds mower, 2 greens mowers, vibratory rollers and a greens aerator. Previously the equipment for the course has been obtained on an as-needed basis as equipment deteriorated. The new schedule, according to Parks Director Alan Bull, would allow for "budget stabilization" and would significantly decrease the costs for equipment repair.

Two bids were received, one from Turf Professionals Equipment Company of Springfield, MO and one from Van Wall Equipment Company of Bolivar, MO. Turf Professional’s bid was for Toro equipment and the net bid total after trade-in of the current equipment was $210,666.59. Van Wall’s bid was for John Deere equipment and was for $163,016.60 after trade-in. $46,000 has been budgeted this year for the plan. Bull said he felt it was a good idea to put $45,000 as a first payment, and leave a cushion of $1,000 for any extra components that might be needed.

When discussing the two bids, Bull noted that it was the opinion of the staff that Toro was the preferred equipment manufacturer, but he added that it was difficult to justify the approximate $47,000 difference between the two bids.

The committee discussed the bids at length, but had much trouble quantifying the equipment differences in monetary terms.

One of several differences noted by Bull was that one of the John Deere mowers did not have the same coverage area as the similar Toro, which would result in the grounds keepers having to make an additional pass at mowing the rough. Bull added that he could not verify how much longer the work would take making the extra passes, nor could he speculate the cost per man-hours over the five year period.

Both Bull and Pro Shop Manager Mark Peterson said that the course would benefit from the acceptance of either bid.

"Any equipment is better than no equipment," said Bull. "We’ll be happy with either."

City Administrator Short said that it might be different if the equipment in the lower bid was of a significantly lower quality. Short added that committees are not bound to accept the lowest bid, but are directed to choose the lowest and best bid.

"John Deere is a reputable equipment manufacturer," said Short. "It can’t be justified."

Committee member Timothy Teed made a motion to accept the bid from Van Wall for the John Deere equipment. The committee approved the motion and agreed to forward a recommendation to Council for consideration.

Mornin'
Unfortunately, I’m reminded of old sayin’s much too often. Like:

Why is there always time to do somethin’ over and never enough time to do it right the first time?

It’s better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick.

Whether you’re rich or poor, it’s good ta have money.

Two can live as cheap as one, as long as one doesn’t eat.

It’s not the cost of a dinin’ table that’s bad, it’s the upkeep.

The most critical part of any rain dance is timin’.

It’s better to keep quiet and let folks think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Here's A Tip
By JoAnn Derson

• What’s on sale in October: fishing gear, women’s coats, appliances and leftover school supplies, including lunchboxes and college-dorm gear.

• "I glued a large magnet in the lid of my tackle box. It holds hooks and keeps them from floating in my box and being potential finger pokers!" -- T.T. in Manitoba, Canada

• Clean Styrofoam trays make great bath toys: They float; they can be quickly customized by cutting; and you can "draw" on them using a capped pen.

• "If you buy prescriptions in larger quantities, make sure the label is protected. If it’s not covered in a plastic, either use a piece of packing tape over the label, or paint it with clear nail polish. This way, you can grab the bottle with a wet hand or something but won’t destroy the instructions. My pill bottle fell in the sink. The pills were fine, but the instructions on the label kind of fell apart. I have protected it ever since." -- J.Y. in Indiana

• If you buy honey in a jar with a screw-top lid, spray the inside of the lid with cooking spray the first time you use it. It will go on and off the jar easily every time, and it won’t affect the taste of the honey at all.

• Got an ink stain? Try spraying it with hair spray and blotting with a clean, white (no designs) paper towel. Do this repeatedly until the ink comes out. Make sure that you use a new spot on the towel for each blot. The ink comes up into the towel.