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<br /> <br />Request for Action <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />To Item Number <br />Mayor and City Council 4.6 <br />Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by <br />General Business May 4, 2020 Tim Sevcik, Street and Park Superintendent <br />Item Description Reviewed by <br />Sidewalk Machine Replacement Justin Femrite, Public Works Director <br />Reviewed by <br />Cal Portner, City Administrator <br /> <br />Action Requested <br />Approve, by motion, replacement of the MB Sidewalk Machine with a Trackless Sidewalk Machine. <br /> <br />Background/Discussion <br />At the December 16, 2019, City Council meeting staff, provided the Council information regarding the <br />condition of the city’s sidewalk machine. At that time, the sidewalk machine was nonoperational, and staff <br />was unable to procure the necessary replacement parts for repairs from the vendor resulting in lengthy delays. <br /> <br />Staff presented several options which included purchasing a new Trackless Sidewalk Machine, utilizing <br />alternative city equipment to perform sidewalk snow removal operations, and renting a compact skidsteer <br />loader with a plow attachment and purchasing a snow blower attachment. <br /> <br />Council directed staff to proceed with a combination of alternate city equipment and the rental of a skid steer <br />loader and purchase of a blower attachment to determine the feasibility of alternate equipment. In addition, a <br />Trackless Sidewalk Machine was not available until later March. <br /> <br />During the winter of 2019-2020, staff conducted snow and ice control operations 24 times with 8 events <br />greater than 4 inches. Staff utilized a combination of the rented skidsteer loader with plow and blower <br />attachments, the John Deere Gator UTV with plow, and the John Deere 1565 mower with blower attachment. <br /> <br />Staff found the Gator UTV lacked the power necessary for continuous sidewalk plowing. The 1565 mower was <br />capable of snow blowing sidewalks; however, it took approximately 4-5 days to complete the city. In addition, <br />the constant snow blowing caused a blower gearbox failure. The compact skidsteer was the most viable <br />alternate; however, it struggled to remove the snow down to the concrete surface and took approximately 4 <br />days to clear all the sidewalks. <br /> <br />Despite the best efforts of the mechanics, the MB Sidewalk Machine was never fully operational throughout <br />the winter and was utilized less than 10 hours. As discussed in December, this machine was a prototype unit <br />making it difficult to procure replacement parts needed to operate the plow and blower attachments. <br /> <br /> <br />The Elk River Vision <br />A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional <br />service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity <br /> <br />