The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety members considered several bid recommendations made by department heads this week.
Street Superintendent Jim Marquardt asked that the board accept the bids from Oliver Ford Lincoln for a 2020 Ford F250 4X4 Super Cab at $32,556 with a trade-in value on a 1989 van of $500 with the net cost $32,056.
He also asked the board to accept the bid from Oliver Ford Lincoln for a 2020 F450 series truck chassis for $45,315 with a trade-in allowance on a 2005 Ford F450 of $5,000 for a net price of $40,315. He stated County Auto was the low bidder, but they could not offer the transmission with the PTO for the hydraulic pump as requested or heated mirrors on the base truck as provided in the past.
Additionally, Police Chief David Bacon asked the board to accept the bid from Oliver Ford Lincoln for three 2020 AWD utility interceptors with the trade-in of a 2012 Dodge Charger for a net price of $94,955. He said that Country Auto bid $93,098 for three Dodge Durango V8 vehicles, but he said the Dodges purchased last year aren’t working well for the officers.
“I have four officers that drive those and they none of them like them,” stated Bacon. “Comfort isn’t there. The seat kinda wraps around and pushes our gun belt forward. I actually had to move an officer out of there and put them back in a Ford because they were starting to develop hip problems. They didn’t have hip problems before driving the Dodge.”
He also mentioned that the Ford top speed is better than the Dodge, and the gear shifter on the Dodge is on the console and not on the column, like the Ford model. When changing the battery, Bacon said it is located underneath the front seat on the Dodges, so they have to remove the rear prisoner cell to change the battery.
The board members approved the recommendations as presented with reasons given. The vote was unanimous.
