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The Town of Thorsby is preparing for the upcoming grass-cutting season by making sure their arsenal of mowers is ready for the challenge.

The Council approved to purchase a new Scag mower with a 61-inch deck during its meeting on Jan. 19.

It was agreed that the 61-inch deck will be larger than the two mowers the town currently has and will be much more efficient in terms of the time it will take to cut large areas of property that the town owns.

According to Councilman Justin Killingsworth, Scag mowers are extremely durable and the best choice for commercial use.

“You could pretty much bush hog with that thing,” Killingsworth said.

In addition to the new mower, the Council also unanimously approved repairs needed to its other two mowers.

A new Kubota 48-inch deck will be purchased for one mower, which is deemed in good shape everywhere else. The town will install the deck once it is purchased.

The town’s other mower is in desperate need of a new motor, and the Council approved that as well.

“It’s using about five quarts of oil a day,” Public Works Director Daniel Avery said.

According to Mayor Robert Hight, repairing and adding to the mowers ahead of time will hopefully allow for more time cutting grass and less time fixing mechanical problems with the mowers.

He stressed that it is even more important with the town’s maintenance department still having three vacancies on its crew.

The county engineer will be coming out to look into some pipes that will most likely need to be fixed on certain roads in the town.

A plan will be devised moving forward once the county assesses the situation.

The town’s storm shelter located at Sam Bentley Park has some mold that the fire department is working on cleaning up.

“After that, it’s a preventative maintenance from there,” Thorsby Fire Chief Josh Parker said.

One of the things the Council agreed would be helpful in preventing mold in the future is to keep the shelter’s fan running.

According to Mayor Robert Hight, the plan is to paint the shelter during the summer to keep it from being such an eyesore.