The city council on Thursday approved spending $197,000 in remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase a wheeled excavator for the public works department.

The funds came from savings in the roughly $6 million citywide drainage improvement project recently completed. The savings had to be spent by Sept. 30 or returned to the U.S. Treasury.

Council members met via Zoom to approve purchasing a 2024 Model JCB Hydradig with scoop and mower attachments, which Mayor Stephen Jones said will help maintain ditches.

The council also approved using $57,000 remaining from its special projects fund to purchase a field striping machine for parks and recreation. Tiny Mobile Robots submitted the accepted bid for the equipment, which was $300 higher than the low bid from Turf Tank.