The action requested of City Council is to review and consider for approval two proposals.  One from RDK Municipal Truck Center, Inc. in the amount not to exceed thirty-one thousand five hundred dollars and zero cents ($31,500.00) for the purchase and installation of a 2,000 gallon water tanker body onto an existing utility dump truck. The second proposal is in the amount not to exceed six thousand seventeen dollars and seventy cents ($6,017.70) from the City's Fleet Maintenance Supervisor for the purchase and installation of miscellaneous hardware to outfit the vehicle.  

As Council is aware, the City's current Capital Improvement Program contains several capital projects that include landscaping.  One of the projects included in the program is the US Hwy 19 center median landscape improvement project.  This project calls out for the planting of ground cover, shrubs, and trees in the center medians along US Hwy 19 form the southern City limits at Trouble Creek Road to the northern boundary located at the Pithlachascotee (Cotee) Bridge.  The cost for the installation of an irrigation system for this project is cost prohibitive.  Without the ability to irrigate the newly installed landscaping, water, fertilizer and herbicide recommendation rates cannot be applied and the survival of the plantings is greatly reduced. 

Currently, the Public Works Department has an existing dump truck that a water tanker body can be mounted on and the piece of equipment can be repurposed into a water truck to be able to satisfy the need to irrigate city owned landscaped areas and right of ways with reclaimed water where no irrigation is available or where the cost for irrigation system installations is cost prohibitive.