New Franklin’s streets and drainage committee and council approved the purchase of a compact track loader and a heavy‑duty trailer for the service, parks and cemetery departments.

Committee members said the loader is a medium‑sized compact track loader (vendored as a Caterpillar model described in the order) with a high‑flow hydraulic pump to power a range of attachments—snowblower, stump grinder, brush cutter and other implements used for trail construction and maintenance. The purchase price cited in committee discussion was $88,795.87 for the loader; the trailer vendor quote was about $15,300.

Staff said the item was included in the current budget and that the parks commission recommended splitting the purchase cost equally among Parks, Cemetery and Service Department budgets. Parks staff also noted the machine would allow more in‑house work on a proposed multi‑use trail and other maintenance projects rather than contracting out those tasks.

The parks commission had vetted the need and unanimously recommended the purchase; committee members reviewed technical considerations (attachment compatibility and high‑flow hydraulics) and confirmed the loader can operate on narrow trail corridors and dump into standard dump trucks. The resolution authorizing the purchase (resolution 25‑R‑32) was adopted at the meeting with recorded council votes.