Staff recommends that the City Council declare the Airport's two 1997 Snowplows as surplus for disposal via a competitive bid process.    

On May 14, 2018, the City Council approved the purchase and replacement of two 20-year-old Airport snowplows with two new pieces of equipment capable of simultaneously plowing and sweeping snow, ice, and other contaminants off of all airfield pavement surfaces to improve safety for aircraft operations.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires all commercial service airports to maintain a safe airfield; therefore, it is imperative that the Airport owns and operates heavy equipment to comply with these Federal requirements, which also includes a Snow and Ice Control Program.  Subsequently, the Airport replaced two 1997 Heavy Duty 4X4 Oshkosh Snowplows with two new 2018 MB5 Multi-Tasking Snow Removal Vehicles. The Airport's Airfield Maintenance Division wanted to make sure the new MB5's worked correctly so the old snowplows were kept in a backup role over the past two Winters.  Now that this new multi-tasking equipment has been in service for a period of time and proven reliable, the Airport would like to dispose of the two 1997 snowplows. Staff at the Billings Airport has been contacted numerous times by many smaller airports in Montana who are interested in purchasing and using this specialized snow removal equipment at their facilities.   Airport staff would like the City Council to declare these snowplows as surplus with the intent to advertise and sell the snowplows and all miscellaneous equipment to the highest bidder.  The estimated minimum value of each snowplow is approximately $10,000 and a minimum bid in that amount will be required.  Based on the good condition of these snowplows, expensive prices for new equipment, and interest received for this equipment, the Airport anticipates receiving more then the minimum bid value for each snowplow. The successful bidder will be responsible for all costs associated with removal of the equipment, which will be sold "as is" with no warranty, and must be removed from the Airport within 30 working days following notification of approval and release from the City of Billings.  The Airport has previously sold used airport snow removal and fire fighting equipment to others, and it has proven to be extremely beneficial to both parties involved.    

City Council may:

• Approve the sale and disposal of the two snowplows;
• Sell the equipment at the City auction for considerably less; or
• Decline to declare the equipment as surplus and direct staff on how to proceed.

The two 23-year-old Oshkosh snowplows were originally purchased with a combination of Federal and Local funds in 1997.  The FAA has determined that the 15-year useful life of these snowplows has expired; therefore, the Airport has no Federal obligations remaining and they will allow the sale and transfer of this equipment.  The estimated value of each snowplow is approximately $10,000 and a minimum bid in that amount will be required.  Based on the good condition of these older snowplows, high prices for new equipment, and interest for this equipment, the Airport anticipates receiving more than the minimum base bid value for each snowplow.