RICK McGIVERN
Finance Director
Every day in Metro Parks, managers and employees are looking for ways to get the job done at the best price, which is greatly appreciated in the Finance Department. Here is a well-deserved shout out to some of our Metro Parks Bargain Hunters who saved a ton of money on two recent projects.
THE TRACTOR
When the brakes locked up on the John Deere 5400 tractor at Sharon Woods, park staff knew they had a challenge on their hands. Purchased in 1994, the JD 5400 was an invaluable tool at Sharon Woods for succession mowing and other odd jobs like moving mulch or gravel. Despite its age, the JD 5400 seemed to have plenty of life left in it if only the brakes could be fixed.
After a local dealer quoted repairs at more than $10,000, Sharon Woods staff decided to take on the repairs in-house and save Metro Parks the hefty bill.
Park Technicians Levi Baugess and Jeremy Severance put their fix-it skills to the test. The first challenge was finding a technical repair manual for the old tractor. Due to the magic of eBay, a manual was procured for $149. With guidebook in hand, the challenges were to disassemble the back of the tractor, just to get at the rear brakes, then replace the brakes and reassemble the tractor.
A job like this had never been done before in-house. Our costs were under $2,000. Not only did the team save the taxpayers money, but valuable repair skills, teamwork and confidence were hard earned.
With the repairs completed, and an 80% saving making the Finance Department happy, Sharon Woods staff expects several more years of service from the JD 5400. Well done, Sharon Woods Bargain Hunters!
TREE CLEARANCES
Metro Parks Bargain Hunters flexed their money-saving muscles again when it came to clearing a path through the woods for the Park Road to Annehurst Trail, which will run along Park Road and then through the northern area of Sharon Woods.
The route for the trail required extensive tree clearing, but then initial quotes for that tree clearing came in at over $40,000! After a few dropped jaws were pushed back in place, it was quickly decided to gather our internal resources and find a way to do it better—and cheaper. We were able to clear a path through the trees at a significant savings, thanks to the cooperation of 17 employees from various locations using chainsaws, a BC1500 chipper, a skip loader with forestry head attachment, and a John Deere tractor with forks to move and place various logs and other woody debris.
The Metro Parks Roving Crew is now working on building and surfacing the trail, which should open this summer.
A big round of applause and “Thank you, job well done” to the Metro Park employees who made these 2 projects solvable and way under budget. Glad to be a user and tax supporter of the Metro Park system.
I’m a penny pincher, too. I so appreciate hearing stories from friends, local agencies, and other entities I love (like Metroparks) using cost saving measures as well. I love the ingenuity!
Well done team! What s cool unforge experience rebuilding the tractor motor.