McMinnville is getting a new automated side-loader garbage truck at a cost of $251,933 if the city board accepts a committee’s recommendation to go with a higher bid with a better warranty.
Streets and Sanitation Committee members Billy Wood and Jimmy Bonner voted in favor of accepting a bid from Stringfellow Inc. at a cost of $251,933, while Alderman Rick Barnes voted against it favoring a bid from CMI Equipment of $234,736.
According to McMinnville Public Works director Bill Brock, the $17,197 cost difference is due to a warranty the city asked for and Stringfellow provided, but CMI did not.
“One thing we asked for was a warranty,” said Brock. “We have asked for that on every garbage truck since I’ve been here. In the warranty, we asked for a total body warranty of 12 months or 12,000 hours and a cylinder guarantee or warranty for 60 months. When the cylinder goes out, it can get very expensive.”
Brock says CMI refused to provide a cylinder warranty.
“I contacted CMI and asked if a warranty could be provided. He called me about an hour later and said, ‘No thanks, we cannot.’ I know there is a $17,000 difference, but that warranty is pretty valuable to us. I recommend you go with Stringfellow.”
City attorney Tim Pirtle says officials can go with a higher bid because the city asked for a specific warranty and the lowest bid did not include it.
“The warranty is a mandatory element of the bid,” said Pirtle.
A third bid from Municipal Equipment Inc. was for $269,512.