Following a bid request by the Platte County Public Works Department for six replacement vehicles a few months ago, county commissioners gave their unanimous approval to purchase four new Ford extended cab pickup trucks last Thursday.The four new vehicles will be used to replace a 1977 Dodge pickup truck, 1987 Chevy pickup, 1994 Ford pickup and 1998 Ford Explorer. Thoroughbred Ford received the winning bid with $20,262 per vehicle, for a total bid price of $81,048.
“Those (old) vehicles are becoming very expensive to maintain at this point,” said Public Works Director Greg Sager. “It’s usually big expensive items, numerous mechanical problems, high mileage and low utility.
“The mechanics are telling me it would cost a lot to fix them up.”
Sager said he decided to recommend only the purchase of four vehicles, instead of the initial six, because of the bids that were received from 15 area car dealerships.
“I chose only to go with four based on the prices we got and the department’s current need,” said Sager. “It seemed like a practical decision to make because of the need and price at the time.”
The replacement vehicles will be used by Sager’s department as inspector vehicles, for pushing snow and as road maintenance vehicles. The public works department has a total of 12 passenger vehicles in its fleet.
Sager’s decision to select can extended cab vehicle was based on its wide range of capabilities.
“An extended cab truck can be used to push snow, carry passengers and perform usual duties of a regular cab pickup truck. It’s an added value over the price of a regular cab truck,” stated Sager.
According to Sager, it made more sense to purchase all of the vehicles at the same time.
“If you buy multiple vehicles you tend to think you get a better deal. It’s like buying in bulk,” said Sager. “I’m trying to be smart about how we spend people’s money and make wise purchases.”
Sager also stated that funds for the vehicles had been allocated to his department since the beginning of the 2005 budget year in January.
“I tried to get this done when I came in, but I was being ultra conservative with the budget,” he said. “I didn’t want to come in and start spending a bunch of money in the first couple of months, that’s not the way I wanted to make an entrance. I wanted to evaluate our needs first.”