Watertown City Council approves $198K for Zamboni to be delivered by time ice arena opens
The Watertown City Council approved a purchase agreement for a new Zamboni for $197,870 during Monday evening's meeting.
The lead time to get a new Zamboni is roughly one year. The council needed to approve the purchase agreement to have the ice resurfacing machine available by the time the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena is operational in fall 2023.
The city currently has a Zamboni, but City Manager Amanda Mack informed the council of previous plans to upgrade to an electric model.
The original estimate for the Zamboni was $150,000. Inflation has caused an increase in pricing, and $65,000 of that cost is contingent on the needs of the new ice arena. The purchase agreement is an all-inclusive price with many extra features that might not be necessary.
“We may not need it, but we want it included in the purchase price so that we can fund it if it’s determined that it’s needed,” said Mack.
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The council had questions about items in the purchase agreement, including what the $18,500 “level ice installation and training” entails.
“I just hope that we challenge some of these additions here for the cost to see if it is necessary for us or is just upcharges that we are going to get in order to purchase this (Zamboni),” said Councilman Bruce Buhler.
The purchase of the Zamboni is budgeted for 2023 in the Capital Projects fund.
Codington-Clark Electric co-op affected by annexations
Dave Eide with Codington-Clark Electric addressed the council during the public comment session to discuss the effects the annexation of the Williston First Addition and the Harmony Hill Third Addition have on the electric cooperative.
“We would respectfully ask that Codington-Clark Electric retain our service territory … to serve electricity to future consumers within that annexation,” said Eide.
Eide explained to the council that by losing the additions, Codington-Clark Electric rural users would see increased electric charges as the change would decrease the co-op’s ability to spread costs and pay back its long-term loans.
“In essence, a piece of our business is forcefully being taken away from us permanently, making the cost of service higher for those left behind,” he said.
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Assets that belong to the co-op will also be left behind, including millions of dollars worth of buried infrastructure, said Eide.
The information he discussed was not an agenda item, so it could not be acted on. Mayor Ried Holien told Eide that it is his policy not to use the public comment session as an opportunity to engage in debate. However, Holien encouraged Eide to contact council members after the meeting to discuss the issue further.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown City Council approves $197,870 Zamboni purchase agreement
