Council
6 March, 2024
Shire awards contract for new Jetpatcher
CORANGAMITE Shire Council has awarded a contract for a new truck mounted combination road maintenance unit.
The unit – dubbed a Jetpatcher – will replace the current model, which is about 10 years old.
Shire manager works Peter Rogers said in 2023, council tendered for the supply and delivery of a truck combination road maintenance unit.
He said the tenderer provided two options for council’s consideration.
The two options were for an Isuzu auto cab chassis for $682,605 or a Hino auto cab chassis for $706,554.20.
Councillors voted at last week’s Ordinary Meeting of Council to award the contract for the purchase of the Hino vehicle.
Mr Rogers said council currently has 15 Hino trucks in its fleet and there were a number of spare parts held for Hinos.
He said council’s plant maintenance team was also familiar will how to service and maintain the vehicles in a timely and efficient manner.
Mr Rogers said while the Isuzu was the cheaper option, council had limited knowledge as to the requirements and ongoing maintenance of the vehicle.
The expected delivery turnaround timeframe is more than 12 months.
Councillors agreed with the recommendation to purchase the more expensive option in the Hino.
“I think this is a good thing,” Cr Nick Cole said.
“We’re using them a lot fixing up our roads, so we need them.”
Cr Geraldine Conheady said the decision “just makes sense”.