Shell Rock River Watershed District officials within the next few days may be one step closer to dredging Fountain and Albert Lea lakes.

The district board of managers on Friday voted to pursue the purchase of a used dredge and other dredging equipment. The equipment will be up for auction Monday at Ritchie Bros. in Owatonna.

Watershed District Administrator Brett Behnke said the district just learned of the potential to purchase the dredge, and board Chairman Clayton Petersen called a special emergency meeting to discuss the issue before the Monday auction. Behnke needed permission from the board before being able to pursue the purchase and know under what parameters and price guidelines he could bid.

Behnke said he thought the auction might be a way the district could save on the potential cost of the dredging, as the district has sought $7.5 million in bonding dollars for the project in the last few years without success.

He said the dredge at the auction will be a 2010 IMS 7012 HP 51-foot Versi dredge that sells new for about $540,000. It can dig 30-feet deep if needed, and it had about 2,000 previous hours logged on the machine from a Canadian company that dredged near Kellogg.

It fits 14-inch pipe, has a John Deere engine and is equipped with GPS.

He said the dredging equipment includes piping that sells new for $300,000 and six pumps that sell new for about $125,000 each.

“The whole thing comes down to if you could get a decent deal,” Petersen said. “If the deal is right, it’s something you should do. If the deal is not right, you don’t buy it.”

The dredge and equipment are expected to be auctioned separately.

The managers discussed the potential prices district officials could bid Monday, and all but one manager, Al Bakken, approved pursuing the purchase.

Bakken said he thought some of the other preliminary site selection and engineering work should be completed prior to considering whether to purchase or lease a dredge and equipment.

He said he would also rather buy a new dredge and equipment because then they would have a warranty.

Look for follow-up to this story on Monday after the auction.