Radio-controlled mower set to save city time, money

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

Public Works Department professionals in Seguin have a new tool to add to their figurative belts that should help save the city time, money and resources.

City leaders and employees on Friday showed off the recently-purchased TRAXX RC75 radio-controlled slope mower during an unveiling ceremony and demonstration.

“It’s a very multitasking piece of equipment which really intrigued me because I’m about getting more applications out of one piece of equipment,” Public Works Director John Donnelly said. “It really works great.”

The city bought the state-of-the-art mower for about $65,000 from the Alamo Group, Inc., he said. City Council approved the purchase in April to help crews get a handle on an increasing workload of right-of-way maintenance amid the city’s rapid growth, Public Information Officer Jennifer Sourdellia said.

The department currently maintains more than 600 acres each year, she said.

“We’re really working hard at getting ahead of what we might need because of growth,” Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen said. “If we don’t stay on top of (growth), we’re going to be further behind.”

Public Works crews will be safer using the mower because it operates

on inclines that can be dangerous for employees using traditional mowers that fall over and potentially hurt workers, Donnelly said. Operators can send the mower into culverts, ditches, rough terrain and confined areas to tackle vegetation and overcome obstacles other mowers can’t handle, he said.

Public Works has a bucket attachment to allow removal of water and debris as well as one for stump grinding, Donnelly said.

“The TRAXX mower will also eliminate weed eating and help us mow the ends of islands, around guardrails and other obstacles within the right-of-way areas,” he said. “Staff can easily detach the mower attachment and connect a bucket to not only mow grass, but also clean out box culverts that have dirt build up inside of them to help the flow of storm water runoff.”

City leaders have tried to get a better handle on ways to improve drainage across Seguin, City Manager Steve Parker said. Installing more culverts to move the flow of water and prevent backups and floods is important in the city’s plans, he said.

The TRAXX will help keep everything safe and operable, Parker said.

“Once we create these drainage culverts, this’ll be a perfect tool to make sure they’re cleaned out and working properly so we can prevent localized flooding,” he said.

TRAXX RC75 retails for about $120,000, Donnelly said. Alamo provided it at a discounted price and continues to work with the city as a good corporate neighbor, said Keith Forcinito, president of Alamo Group Texas.

“We appreciate your business,” he said before the demonstration. “We love being a part of the community.”

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