Anchorage Assembly to vote on $1.94M equipment buy for streets, waste

Anchorage street crews and waste haulers are set to receive replacement equipment funded by property taxpayers and utility customers, pending an Anchorage Assembly vote June 23 on three purchases totaling $1,937,570.

Two Caterpillar 140M3 motor graders at $668,394 and two Caterpillar 938 wheel loaders at $679,058 are funded through ARDSA property tax levies, which pay for road and drainage maintenance across most of the Anchorage Bowl. The wheel loaders replace machines from 2001 and 2003. One grader being replaced has a failed transmission the administration says could cost up to one-third the price of a new machine. The wheel loader price includes freight, preparation, manuals, and a five-year warranty. The motor graders will be purchased through State of Alaska Contract CA2403; the wheel loaders through Sourcewell Contract #011723-CAT.

Three Kenworth T880 waste-hauling tractors round out the package at $590,118 net after $82,500 in trade-in credits, drawn from the Solid Waste Services capital budget. SWS is an enterprise operation funded through user fees charged to residential and commercial customers, not property taxes. The tractors are expected to arrive 14 to 16 weeks after the order is placed through Sourcewell Contract #032824-KTC.

All three purchases use cooperative contracts rather than individual competitive bids. The Sourcewell contracts were established through formal, publicly advertised request-for-proposal processes. The administration recommends approval of all three purchases.