Fort Oglethorpe to purchase new equipment for fire department, parks and recreation
The city of Fort Oglethorpe has approved nearly $24,000 in new equipment purchases for its fire and parks and recreation departments.
During the city’s March 12 council meeting, Fire Chief Bruce Ballew and Public Works and Recreation Director Jeff Long requested needed equipment for their respective departments.
Ballew requested new protective equipment for firefighters, while Long’s crew added a new zero-turn mower.
“It’s 10 sets of personal protective equipment from Bennett Fire Equipment,” Ballew said. “They’re the sole source provider in the state of Georgia for the Cairns equipment that we utilize.”
The council unanimously approved the purchase in the amount of $16,830.
As for the new mower, Long said the mower will be used for sports fields which need special treatment to grow properly.
“We’re requesting purchase of a Toro zero-turn mower,” he said. “It also has the bagger and blower attachments for it. This will be used for the ball fields. The issue that we’ve run into with the fields is that we mow them 2-3 times per week and the thatch and all that’s coming up, the grass can’t germinate and keep growing so it’s smothering the grass out.”
Long says he even met with some landscaping professionals to decide the best course of action for the issue.
“They said we need to make sure we get the grass clippings up every mow to eliminate that where the grass will still grow like it needs to grow,” Long explained.
When it came time to evaluate the bids, Long says a local company made a better offer than the state contractor.
“The state contract price from the Georgia state bid is $5,699,” Long said. “We also got a price from TAS Equipment here in Rossville, and their price for the mower is $4,899, so actually, it’s a better deal for us not going with the state contract price. With the mower and the attachments, the total amount is $6,993.”
The $23,823 total approved for the equipment will be paid for with SPLOST funds.