It’s not even officially summer yet, but the Sterling Public Works Department is planning ahead for winter snowfall.

At its May 18 meeting, the Sterling City Council waived the bid process and approved the purchase and installation, from Bonnell Industries, for $28,999.23, of a 5200 Series Snow Wing snowplow.

“This is a new plow that will be used for the downtown. It has hydraulic wings on each side. It will also be used to clean the Avenue G bridge sidewalks,” said Brad Schrader, Sterling Public Works Superintendent.

The council also waived the bid process and approved the purchase of two pickup trucks, one for the public works department and the other for the wastewater treatment facility.

The council waived the bid process to purchase two 2026 3/4-ton pickup trucks from Sterling Chevrolet, one for $61,757 and the second for $53,820.

The council voted to approve the collective bargaining agreement with IAFF Local 2301 with some slight changes. The IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) is the union representing Sterling Fire Department firefighters. Among those changes is an expansion in the residency requirements, from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

The department does not require applicants to live within the residency requirements prior to getting hired. Within a year of being hired, SFD firefighters are required to establish residency within the contractually stated response time of the main SFD station.

Scott Shumard, Sterling city manager, said proposed changes to sick time were pulled by negotiators for the IAFF Local 2301.

“At the last minute they decided to pull everything off the board and stick with the status quo. I think it’s a good contract and everybody’s happy with it and they have authorized themselves to sign as well,” Shumard said.