This bid is for purchasing two (2) new sixteen foot (16') large area rotary mowers for the Billings Parks and Recreation Department. These mowers are used 8 hours a day, 5 days a week from May through the end of October. They are used to mow large areas in  parks  and sport fields.  They will replace a 2006 Jacobson mower and a 2004 Toro mower.  The Jacobson mower was offered as a trade-in and the Toro will be kept as a backup mower if one of the new mowers is unavailable.  The equipment's heavy use and age have caused high maintenance and repair costs and difficulty in meeting scheduled mowing times.  The invitation for bids was advertised on July 21st, 28th, and August 4th in the Billings Times and on the City's Website. Bids were opened on August 11, 2015.  Midland Implement Company Inc. submitted the only bid in the amount of $159,498 and offered a $2,500 trade-in allowance for the Jacobsen mower.  The bid met all of the bid specifications.  Staff is recommending that the Council accept the bid, including the trade-in value, which results in a net cost of $156,998.

City Council may:

• Accept the bid from the Midland Implement Company Inc. in the net amount of $156,998.00, for two 16' wide large area mowers, or
• Not accept the bid.  Not purchasing the mowers will cause continually increasing maintenance costs and delays in preparing the parks for public use.

Replacing the 16' mowers was recommended in the FY 16 Equipment Replacement Plan (ERP).  Funding in the amount of $164,321 is included in the capital replacement fund.

Staff recommends that the City Council award the purchase of two sixteen foot (16') large area rotary mowers to Midland Implement Company Inc. in the net amount of $156,998, which includes a $2,500 trade-in value for one of the replaced mowers.