Board of Public Works & Safety reject quotes for police vehicles and ask chief to rebid

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 3:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety motioned to reject the quotes received for 7 new Police Department vehicles during their meeting Monday evening.

Two weeks ago, the board opened quotes and Chief John Weir asked them to take them under advisement for review and come to Monday’s meeting with a recommendation.

The chief said he found a 2020 CRV for the detective vehicle that was $22,951.96 with the trade-in of a 2014 Ford Taurus. He said using this as one of his seven vehicles would save him about $50,000. Because the price was under the $25,000 threshold, it didn’t require a quote. He also told the Board of Public Works members he wanted to purchase three Tahoes and three Hybrid Explorers.

Board member Duane Culp asked the main reason for the Tahoes, and the chief said room. He said the driver's seat gives officers more room while wearing their gun belts and equipment. He also said the equipment the investigator needs to carry fits in the back of the vehicle and in the Ford it doesn’t. He said the three Tahoes would be about $6,000 more than the Fords and he wasn’t sure that room was a good reason to spend more taxpayer money.

Councilman Don Ecker said he preferred to stay as close to home with vehicle purchases. The Tahoes are from Kelly Chevrolet in Fort Wayne.

Steve Keiser from Oliver Ford attended the meeting and said he had a quote for the gasoline 3.3 V6 Ford Interceptors which are about $2,000 less than the quotes for the Hybrids.

City Attorney Jeff Houin told the board if they changed their specifications mid-stream, they would need to reject the bids and go through the process again.

Chief Weir said he was unaware that Ford had the V6 Interceptors available and would have sought a quote for them along with the Hybrids if he did.

Councilman Dave Morrow motioned to reject the bids and Duane Culp seconded the motion. The Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved the motion to reject the bids and go through the process of obtaining quotes again.