After almost three decades, it’s time to say goodbye to the Sterling Public Works Department’s 28-year-old bucket truck.

“This truck will be replacing our 1998 bucket truck. It has served its purpose. It was time,” Sterling Public Works Superintendent Brad Schrader told the Sterling City Council at its meeting Monday. Aldermen Josh Johnson and Joe Strabala-Bright were absent.

Schrader said the city reached out to three major companies for quotes. The council voted to waive the bid process and accepted a quote for $174,440 from Runnion Equipment of Hodgkins for a 2027 bucket truck.

The bucket truck was one of several vehicle purchases the City Council approved Monday.

The council voted to waive the bid process and accept a quote from Karl Chevrolet for two 2026 Chevy Tahoe police packages for $107,480. The quote is for both vehicles, not each vehicle.

Sterling Police Chief Pat Bartel explained that local dealerships do not carry the police package vehicles. The city has previously purchased police package vehicles from Karl Chevrolet, based in Ankeny, Iowa.

The council voted to waive the bid process and approve a $17,667 quote from Guardian Fleet for the upfitting of the two new Tahoe vehicles.

The police department also will be getting a new vehicle for its detective division.

The council voted to waive the bid process and will pay $33,887 to Sterling Chevrolet for the purchase of a 2026 Chevy Equinox.

Bartel told the council that the department will be trading in three vehicles, and the bid prices will be reduced once the trade-in value of the vehicles is determined.

The council voted to waive the bid process and accept a quote from Electric Doctor in the amount of $64,769 for a 150-kilowatt building generator for Sterling City Hall.

City Manager Scott Shumard explained that the difficulty was in finding a generator that would fit on the existing pad and enclosure in back of Sterling City Hall.

“The generator that was running when we did the remodel is no longer functioning and we tried to find replacements. With the background, it’s been difficult to find one that fits on the pad within the enclosure out back, so when she went to get quotes she was trying to find ones that didn’t require a whole new pad and a whole new surrounding,” Shumard said.