In a typical year, the City of Dowagiac, which operates its own utility services to commercial and residential customers, will see anywhere from 10 to 15 utility poles go down in the wake of adverse weather or as the result of a traffic accident. In order to maintain essential electric service to the community with as short a down-time as possible, the city takes its utility service duties very seriously. That's why the Dowagiac City Council stepped up to the plate last night and approved the purchase of a new line truck to replace a 28-year old maintenance truck that is fading fast.
James Bradford is Director for Dowagiac's Department of Public Services. He told city council members Monday night that the city's line truck is used for setting poles and electric transformers in the community, and the old truck has been red-tagged as unsafe, especially since the lifting cylinder for the bucket arm has gone bad.
The city was able to capitalize on a year-end special from Cannon Equipment Company of Texas on a 2015 Versalift Truck with less than 1,500 miles on it and only 30 hours of use time logged. The sale opportunity allowed the city to save $15,000, bringing the truck's final price to $186,821. The vehicle is currently en route from Texas and the final purchase is contingent upon staff in Dowagiac viewing the truck and its gear on site. Bradford says they are confident it will meet the city's needs.
Bradford told the city council that repairs of more than $30,000 on the red-tagged truck in house would have exceeded the value of the vehicle itself. He notes that maintenance vehicles like the one they have typically have a life span of 20 years, however proactive maintenance by his team added another eight years to its life.
Bradford says, "This is the only type of line truck we have to install power poles and electric transformers, and to set street lights." He adds, "It is an essential piece of equipment. Without this truck, when an electric pole or transformer is down, the city would have to rely on mutual aid from another municipality, such as the City of Niles. Relying on mutual aid would be a good 90-minutes, if not longer, and contingent upon another crew being available."
Bradford's three man line crew is on call 24-hours a day, and his goal is "to maintain electric service as quickly and as safely as possible." Bradford is proud of the fact that due to their proactive approach, they lose very few utility poles due to age." In fact, he says, "Our line crew tracks electric poles throughout the city on a regular basis, monitoring their condition. When they start to show deterioration, we schedule them for replacement."
Bradford says that last year the crew changed out 30 old or broken utility poles, as the continue to try to keep on top of things in order to provide reliable electric service for homeowners and businesses alike.
The photo accompanying this story at Moody on the Market.com from Cannon Equipment shows a truck similar to the one purchased by Dowagiac, but is not the actual vehicle. It is a 2016 vehicle in their current inventory, designed to show the style of lift capabilities of the truck purchase by the city.
