County highway staff presented several equipment purchases the board approved for road operations and maintenance. The board accepted a quote for a hydraulic puller and jaw clamp to be fitted to an existing sign truck to better extract sign posts; staff said the current retrofit is cracking and the welds are failing.
The board approved purchase of a mini excavator included in the 2025 budget. Highway staff said the excavator will be used for culvert and clean-out work, beaver-dam removal and other tasks; the low quote was $71,470 from Road Machinery and Supplies.
Commissioners also approved a low quote to replace an aging tractor at the county’s North shop. The winning quote was from Titan Machinery (Fargo) for a Case IH tractor priced at $145,216.40; highway staff said they will evaluate retrofitting two older units into one serviceable unit and use existing mowers and attachments.
Each equipment purchase was approved by voice vote.