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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 14, 2025 22 <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the repair costs over the past several <br />years have been consistent. He thinks this item should stay on track for 2026 replacement. <br />Mayor Grant asked what the repairs were. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he would need to bring in the Public <br />Works Superintendent to speak to that type of finer detail on each piece of equipment. <br />Councilmember Rousseau said Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen has put <br />together a metrics for prioritizing these replacements. She would like to see that. She wants to <br />quantify why we need this. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said Staff put in a lot of time to come up <br />with a logical solution to scoring this equipment beyond frequency. The frequency of the <br />replacement helps guide us through until we get to the 5-year. Then we dial it in through the <br />scoring system. <br />Councilmember Weber said a 10-year old plow truck is an old plow truck. He would prefer we <br />stay on track when it comes to snow removal equipment. He noted there is another pickup truck <br />in the list that is only used for transporting seasonal employees. He asked if a Super Duty is <br />necessary for that. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he doesn't have the specifics of each <br />piece of equipment. He said the duties should be listed in the description or the justification. <br />Councilmember Weber said the description said it is used to transport seasonals, mostly. <br />Councilmember Rousseau asked if it might be beneficial to have Public Works Superintendent <br />Frid at a future meeting. <br />Councilmember Weber thinks so. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said in the 10-year CIP we have 53 pieces of <br />equipment being monitored. Some are out as far as 15 or 20 years. If we want to get into the finer <br />detail on each piece of equipment, Public Works Superintendent Frid would have to be here. He <br />asked them to do the upfront work with justification within the detail sheet so he can try to speak <br />to it. He's just not involved with the operations day to day to speak to the technical details on <br />each piece of equipment. <br />Discussion ensued regarding different trucks and when they are scheduled to be replaced. <br />Councilmember Weber said he wants to make sure the equipment we are replacing these older <br />items with is the appropriate equipment. He said he understands the need to replace a 30-year old <br />loader. Since it receives so little use, it might be worth it to talk to Ramsey County about an <br />agreement. He's sure they have loaders sitting around there. Or a lease may be cheaper. <br />Councilmember Holden said she would like to have the list organized so the items to be <br />replaced in 2026 were at the top. <br />