The Dowagiac City Council voted to spend nearly $130,000 to replace two vehicles for the city’s road crews on Monday.

The council approved the purchase of a new Ford F-250 from C Wimberley Automotive for $28,489. The new vehicle will replace one of the city’s existing plow trucks, which has been suffering from recent transmission problems, said City Manager Kevin Anderson.

“This is a vehicle that, this past summer, we went back and forth on to say whether we should get a new one or run it into the ground,” Anderson said. “We ended up running it into the ground this winter.”

The new plow truck will be used primarily to plow lift station areas around Indian and Sister Lakes, Anderson said.

The council also authorized the purchase of a new John Deere front-loader vehicle from West Side Tractor Sales in South Bend for $100,715. It will replace the city’s existing front-loader, which has been pulled from service several times over the past two years for repairs. The city faced a repair bill of around $25,000 to fix the issues with the 13-year-old vehicle’s rear axle and drive train, so the city looked into replacing it rather than trying to fix it, Anderson said.

“We feel like this is the appropriate time to make that investment in a new vehicle,” he said.

Department of Public Services Director Jim Bradford recommended both purchases. Funds for the replacement vehicles have been set aside in the city’s motor pool fund.

Anderson also updated the council on the progress that crews have made over the past several weeks patching up potholes that have developed on city streets since the beginning of winter.

“We’ve been out really working hard on potholes these last several days as we’ve had some clearer weather,” Anderson said. “Today we also went out and got some cold mix as well so that we can try to keep on pace.”

The city manager asked that the residents inform the city’s public services department of any new potholes that form.

“It’s going to be a tough spring,” Anderson said. “We’re going to stay on top of it, but we know it’s going to be a challenge.”