The Jamestown City Council approved the purchase of new vehicles and equipment for the Public Works Department after discussing the Smart City Capital Investment program Monday.

All but one of the city council members voted in favor of 10 new vehicles and equipment, with Andrew Liuzzo, At-large councilman, voting against seven of them. He voted in favor of purchasing a 2020 John Deere 5100E Utility tractor, a 2020 Caterpillar 420F Backhoe and a 2020 Caterpillar 120M AWD Grader No. 49, which would be replacing the 1987 AWD.

“Do we need all 10 vehicles right now?” Liuzzo asked. “Do we need to be spending the money on this Smart City plan, which would cost us close to $13 million? I was opposed to it last month and am opposed to it now.”

With the General Elections coming up, he said purchasing the vehicles now would be ill-timed. Liuzzo agreed to replacing the machines that were old and falling apart. The 1987 AWD was so old, replacement parts for it can no longer be found, said Department of Public Works Director Jeffrey Lehman.

Councilman Anthony Dolce, R-Ward 2, said the city is voting on the resolutions now in order receive $123,713 from trading in three of the vehicles. He said a lot of the vehicles are out-dated, and paying for repairs would become more costly than simply purchasing new vehicles. He also mentioned that these purchases would not be affecting the 2020 budget.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said it would take about seven years to replace all of the vehicles, so it would be better to approve them now, than years after the vehicles have broken down.

The plan is meant to be a proactive way to replace vehicles and equipment instead of waiting for emergency situations to occur.

“We’ll be discussing other pieces of equipment needing replacement,” Dolce said. “The list goes on and on about what the city needs … new fire engines, etc. These are critical pieces of equipment for public safety we need to have to keep the city running.”

Teresi added that the list of vehicles being approved for purchase and their purpose. can be found on the city’s official website. For more information about the Smart City Capital Investment program, go to jamestownny.net/mayors-office/smart-city-capital-investment-program.