Melrose Council Approves Water Truck, Road Engineering Contracts in Busy January Session

MELROSE — January 16, 2020 — Melrose City Council approves water truck purchase and road engineering contracts at January 16 meeting. The council voted unanimously to purchase a fully outfitted 2019 Freightliner water truck from Custom Trucks in Kansas City for $77,500 plus tax and licensing — roughly $42,000 below the state bid estimate of $120,000 — splitting costs between the wastewater plant and the street department. The council also approved a WSB engineering contract for the reconstruction of 5th Street North and adjacent streets, targeting a May 6 bid opening and summer 2020 construction start, and confirmed a Stearns County cost-share of $114,261 on a county road bridge engineering package totaling $304,653. City Attorney Scott reported the 30-day challenge window on the council's prior St. Mary's project decision closed without a legal filing, calling it "another file I can close." The council additionally approved a police department cell phone policy shift from personal-device stipends to city-owned phones, citing legal concerns about sensitive case materials on officer personal devices.