SALEM – The utilities commission approved the purchase of a new vehicle for the department during a Feb. 5 special meeting. 

The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the purchase of a 2025 Ford F-750 SD from Fairway Ford for $66,581, and the purchase of a bed and cover for the truck from Zoresco Equipment Company through Fairway Ford for $25,413, for a total cost of $91,994. 

Commission Chairman Bob Hodgson said he’d checked online for price comparisons and had found one truck which was a partial match to the one the department was considering for $98,000, while ones matching more closely had ranged from $112,000 to $127,000. 

“So, it’s a tremendous deal. I’ve talked to (superintendent of utilities) Butch (Donnally) and (assistant superintendent of utilities) Chad (Hess), we’ve got the money in reserve. What I did ask that we not take money out of vehicle replenishment because we didn’t replace anything last year, and I don’t want to use that money up in case we do need to move something this year,” said Hodgson. 

Hodgson also said that in the past the department had considered purchasing its own semi truck and trailer to haul away sludge from the wastewater treatment plant for proper disposal. He said that at that time the cost of both the equipment and the requirement for the driver to possess a commercial driver’s license had been prohibitive. 

However, with the plant’s upgraded equipment increasing the solids percentage of its sludge and increases in the department’s cost for the sludge to be hauled by Agri-Sludge, Hodgson argued that purchasing a vehicle to handle sludge hauling in-house is now more cost effective. 

“The bottom line is we’re spending between $550,000- and $600,000-plus a year to have Agri-Sludge haul this stuff away, and if we can do it for even $1,50,000 plus the cost of the truck, we’re still in the first year at half. It’s basic economic sense,” said Hodgson. 

Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager Dean Stokes said if the department moves forward with the installation of a sludge dryer as has been proposed, the solid’s percentage would increase even further. He said this would mean that sludge would only need to be hauled to the landfill “maybe once or twice per year.”  

Stokes also noted the F-750 SD would not require a commercial license to drive. Hodgson said purchasing the truck meant it could be used at other locations and for other uses if the department needed to. 

The utilities commission will meet next at 3 p.m. Feb. 19.