MINDEN HILLS, ON – A series of untimely incidents led to a number of repairs for Minden’s fleet of heavy equipment.
During the Committee of the Whole meeting, Roads Superintendent Travis Wilson went over a trio of reports detailing what happened to the department’s equipment between February and March, and why it needed “emergency repairs”.
According to Wilson, the first repair that was needed happened on February 8th, when one of the town’s tandem plows slid off the road because of icy conditions. Although the driver was okay, the truck was rigged up for plowing and sanding, so when it went off the road, the plow harness and other front end components were damaged in the accident.
After the accident, the truck was assessed by the Liftlock Group in Peterborough, and on May 22nd the estimate for the cost of repairs was approved.
The cost to repair the truck was $31,189.95, but according to Wilson’s report, the town’s insurance covered all but the deductible which came to $13,558.22.
To deal with that cost, Wilson suggested that council transfer funds to cover the cost.
The next piece of road equipment to need emergency repairs was the excavator that lost all mechanical control while doing work in town. After the excavator was taken out of commission, Strongco LTD diagnosed the Electronic Control Unit was malfunctioning.
To replace the ECU, Minden Hills spent $9,387.05, which was covered by the 2019 budget that had $18,000 allocated for repairs.
For the last emergency repair, the town’s grader was in need of service as the parking brake was getting hot and was spraying oil out when the grader was in fourth gear.
After the repairs were done on April 16th the cost was $9,023.13 and came out of the $30,000 budgeted for that unit.