The Cartersville city council approved 7 purchases during their recent meeting that totaled $779,034.82.

The largest of these purchases was a bucket truck replacement for the electric department for $335,000.00. The reason that this item was brought before the council was due to the long lead time in delivery, with the stated delivery of this truck in 2026. It was stated that the cost of this truck will be split into thirds and saved annually to then be paid in full upon delivery.

The next largest purchase that was made was also for a replacement truck. The water department requested the purchase of a road tractor and dump trailer to transport biosolids. The current truck that is in use is from 1998. The total price for this truck purchase was $242,150.00 and has a lead time of 26-30 weeks. Due to this wait in delivery, this purchase will be added to the 2023/2024 budget.

The water department had another purchase that topped $100,000, which was the replacement of a sanitary sewer section in West Avenue between Erwin Street and the railroad. The section that needs replacing is 142 feet of 8-inch clay pipe and was stated to be in very poor condition. In addition to that this section of pipe was stated to be over 80 years old. The total amount of the accepted bid was for $131,872.42 and was awarded to C.H. Kirkpatrick & Sons. While this is not a budget expense the funds will be coming from available funds in the sewer revenue.

All the purchases that were proposed in this meeting were approved unanimously.