By T. Scott Boatright
It took the Ruston City Council all of 13 minutes to conduct its February meeting Monday night at City Hall with only five orders of business on the agenda — approving leasing of three vehicles for the Public Works Department and introducing a pair of ordinances.
The first approved equipment leasing was for a frontloader garbage truck for use of pickups at commercial business at a price of $6,453.56 for 36 months.
“This will replace an undependable, owned piece of equipment,” said Ruston Public Works Director John Freeman. “It will go in rotation with the other two that we have leased and will be able to do maintenance on. This will give us two frontline trucks and one dependable backup.”
Mayor Ronny Walker said leasing has become the better way to go when dealing with such equipment.
“The great thing about leasing is we can swap them out every 36 months,” Walker said.
Freeman then expanded on Walker’s comment.
“We have determined that over time, the moving parts on these pieces of equipment take about three years until we start seeing things wear out and they are high-ticket (cost) items as far as maintenance,” Freeman said.
The second approved equipment leasing was for a gravel truck that can pick up leaves and limbs on the side of the road $3,689.21 per month for 36 months.
“That will replace a leased vehicle that is rolling off,” Freeman said.
The third approved equipment leasing was for another gravel truck at the same cost to replace one owned by the city.
Ruston’s City Council also introduced a pair of ordinances to be discussed and potentially voted on during its meeting in March.
The first ordinance, if passed next month, would authorize the issuance of sales tax increment revenue bonds not to exceed a $15M aggregate principal amount for development of the Interstate 20 Economic Development Area while the second would, if passed, approve adoption of amendments for the period of Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023, to the annual budget of revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023.
