HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN-06-022 - Purchase of Snow Melting Equipment
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KITCHENER
Financial Services
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Report To:
Date of Meeting:
Submitted By:
Prepared By:
Ward(s) Involved:
Date of Report:
Report No.:
Subject:
Mayor Carl Zehr and Members of Council
July 4, 2006
Pauline Houston, General Manager of Financial Services
& City Treasurer
Pauline Houston
N/A
July 4, 2006
FIN-06-022
PURCHASE OF SNOW MELTING EQUIPMENT
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT staff be authorized to proceed to tender for the purchase of a 135 ton/hour Mobile Snow
Melter at an approximate cost of up to $550,000.
REPORT:
In an effort to minimize the City's area of land needs for a snow dump, and to reduce the cost of
hauling snow in the wintertime, staff have been investigating and evaluating alternative methods
and technologies available. This investigation has been done in partnership with the City of
Waterloo. As a result of that investigation, staff has concluded that a mobile snow melting
machine provides a very cost effective solution. This technology has been successfully used in
other municipalities such as the City of Toronto, City of Burlington, New York City, and the
City of Barrie. In addition, commercial airports such as Pearson International Airport in
Toronto, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and JFK Airport in New York are using this
type of equipment. Other organizations using similar technology include York University,
Princess Margaret Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, and Bayshore Shopping Centre in
Ottawa.
Initially, staff was considering proceeding with the rental of a smaller (100 tons/hour) mobile
snow melter that would have cost approximately $100,000 to rent for the season. Through
further investigation by Operations staff, it was determined that the size of this equipment was
very likely too small to meet our needs. The rental for the size of equipment necessary to meet
our needs would be more in the order of $200,000. Manufacturers of this equipment have
indicated that we can expect a 25 year usefullifecycle. To be conservative, staff would
recommend depreciating it over a 16 year life, to be consistent with the life cycle of our other
heavy equipment. Since this type of equipment is widely used, as more and more municipalities
turn to this technology, it is being recommended that it is more cost effective to purchase the
equipment, which could easily be resold if the first year's operation did not prove as successful
as we expect.
Through the Shared Services efforts between the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, an
agreement has been reached that would see both cities utilize this unit in the winter of
2006/2007, with the City of Waterloo paying a rental fee of $50,000 to the City of Kitchener.
This time period would give both cities the opportunity to assess the feasibility of a continued
shared approach to the snow melting activity.
Research indicates that the melting method of snow disposal is 50% to 65% of the traditional
cost of hauling snow to a remote dump site. We also expect that our future needs for a snow
dump will reduce from a 6 or 7 acre site requirement to a 3 to 4 acre requirement. We anticipate
that between the savings of hauling costs, plus the reduced requirement to maintain land for a
snow dump, plus the ability to increase our level of service to the public, the City's overall
budget for snow removal will remain the same or be reduced.
There are a number of issues that have resulted in the urgency of this report being brought
forward:
1. the selection of the existing snow dump site for a twin pad arena has accelerated the need
to relocate or reduce our needs for a snow dump
2. the time line to have a snow melter built is six months
3. approval required in advance of Council's summer meeting break
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Approximately $550,000 will be funded from the Equipment Reserve as an additional piece of
equipment to the Fleet. Normally, this type of expenditure would be approved as part of the
Equipment Review Committee process, but because of the timing related to the selection of the
arena site, this item was not considered last fall as part of the normal process. The purchasing
by-law authorizes the CAO to approve tenders during the summer meeting break as long as the
item was budgeted or previously approved by Council.
Pauline Houston, CA
General Manager of Financial
Services & City Treasurer