Loan approved for new equipment for Parks and Recreation department

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA TV) - The legal and finance committee approved a $145,000 loan for the Parks and Recreation Department Wednesday.

The money will go towards buying a new tractor and mower to maintain hillsides and ditches. Using this new equipment makes it safer for crews to tend to those areas. This can also help keep tall grass under control, cutting down on potential fuel sources for wildfires.

"We maintain quite a few areas and not all of them are manicured park areas a lot of them are wild areas and taller weedy areas and so this allows our crew to safely get to those areas and to manage their vegetation," says Jeff Biegler, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.

The department is now responsible for paying back the loan over the next five years.

Paperwork for the loan is already in place, all that's left to do is order the equipment, so it's ready to use this summer.