The Town of Bashaw council decided to spend $40,000 on a new Public Works tractor after staff reported the existing unit was poised to fail. The decision was made at the Apr. 15 regular meeting of council.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Theresa Fuller provided councillors with a request for decision (RFD) regarding a new tractor for the Public Works department to replace an existing unit that was described as being on its way out. “The Kubota B7610 is a unit that is used year-round for snow removal and various Public Works activities,” stated the CAO’s memo to council.

“The unit is starting to fail, the cab is plastic, the heater in it is not dependable,” stated the CAO. “This unit is integral to Public Works operations. The unit requires replacement.”

Fuller stated that staff from Public Works looked into replacement units and came up with two options: a used 2016 John Deere 1025R 25 hp tractor with 590 hours on it; the unit includes a rotary broom, 54-inch snow blower, AutoConnect 60D mower, 700PF three-bag Power Flow, a 120R loader and cab, while the second option was a new Kubota 23.3 hp 4WD tractor with blade, rotary broom, front-mount snowblower and mid-mount mower.

The second-hand John Deere was priced at $40,000 and the CAO confirmed that unit had only one previous owner, while the brand-new Kubota was priced at $66,120.

Fuller explained this purchase was being presented earlier than the rest of the 2026 capital budget as the vehicle is very important to town operations and there aren’t that many quality options around in Bashaw’s price range.

The CAO stated the Town of Bashaw has money in a reserve for a purchase such as this. “In 2024 some equipment had been sold for a total of $43,517,” stated Fuller’s report. “It was placed in the restricted capital; roads, streets and equipment reserve. The reserve is $54,224.”

Newly hired Public Works foreman Lindy Black was present at the meeting and confirmed the existing Kubota unit needs replacement as it was quite old and hanging on by a thread. Black stated the second-hand John Deere unit is in very good condition.

As councillors discussed the RFD, they spoke about buying a unit that can be serviced locally or by Canadian suppliers to minimize the effect of things like foreign tariffs.

The fate of the existing unit was also discussed; staff stated they’d like to put the old Kubota in an auction to see if it can generate some revenue.

Councillors unanimously approved a resolution to purchase a 2016 John Deere 1025R with attachments from Brandt, with funding from the restricted capital; roads, streets and equipment reserve.