Conroe approves $1.87M in heavy equipment purchases for public works fleet

Jason Miller, assistant director of public works, told council the city received bids through its purchasing process and selected the low bid for six of the eight vehicles. However, staff recommended going with the second-lowest bid for two pieces of equipment: a jet truck used on sanitary sewer lines and an asphalt patch truck.

For the jet truck, Miller said the difference between the lowest bid and the recommended bid was $2,754. Staff recommended Houston Freightliner because the vendor is local and because the city already has similar equipment in its fleet, which helps with maintenance and parts.

“When we have things break down, we can readily get equipment available to us,” Miller said.

Diving in deeper

For the patch truck, the difference between the lowest and second-lowest bid was $1,859, according to city documents. Staff said the recommended truck offers better functionality and avoids an auger system that has caused recurring maintenance issues on the city’s current unit.

Council member Kristin Hoisington praised staff for the detail behind the recommendation, saying the information was “very data-driven” and easy to understand.

The total added cost for selecting the two second-lowest bids was $4,613. City documents state the recommendation was based on pricing, technical compliance, delivery, warranty, vendor reputation, performance and post-bid support.

Council approved the purchases unanimously.