Supervisors approve buy-back equipment bid

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
Dec. 9, 2003
Lauderdale County supervisors approved county engineer Neal Carson's recommendation Monday to buy two motor graders from Puckett Machinery in Meridian under a buy-back agreement.
Carson made the recommendation one week earlier, but District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell questioned whether the bid was the lowest and best bid submitted. Boswell also was concerned about new equipment previously purchased from Puckett Machinery that was not working properly.
Boswell said the problems with the equipment appear to be fixed. After examining the bids, he said, he is convinced Puckett Machinery offered the best deal for the county.
The base bid for each of two Caterpillar motor graders that will be purchased from Puckett Machinery is $168,951 with a guaranteed buy-back of $113,500 after 36 months.
The only other bid for the equipment was received from Tubb Equipment &Rental Co. Inc. in Jackson for Case motor graders with a base bid of $143,915 and a guaranteed buy-back of $83,653.
Carson also presented the board with a check for $250,566 from Puckett Machinery, which bought back two motor graders from the county part of a previous buy-back agreement with the company.
In other business:
Carson told supervisors that Bob Luke and others associated with a local fishing club claim the county is responsible for silt that ran into a nearby lake, allegedly from a dirt pit on Kewanee Road, south of Highway 80.
Supervisors approved a resolution giving a small portion of land at the Interstate 20/59 industrial park to the city of Meridian so it can build a water tower. Supervisors added the stipulation that if the city does not use the land for a water tower, the property will revert back to the county.