Councilman wonders whether to buy used cars

The McCook City Council wrapped up business in record time Monday night, concluding its regular meeting in 30 minutes.

Still, the council did pull some items for discussion from the consent agenda item, including specifications for new pickups and a new police package vehicle.

Councilman Lonnie Anderson asked Public Work Director Kyle Potthoff if used vehicles could be purchased, or if older vehicles could be traded in, when the city purchases pickups for the street and recycling department this year.

Potthoff said in researching this alternative, "you're not always 100 percent sure of what you're getting." Warranties are usually not as good, he continued and the government reduction offers substantial, and better, discounts.

The council unanimously approved the specs for two new 2009 or 2010, three-quarter-ton, four-wheel drive pickups and set the date to receive bids at Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. City staff would like to bid the two vehicles together in the hopes that a better price will be offered.

Councilman Anderson posed the same question to McCook Police Chief Ike Brown, regarding the bid specs for a new police package vehicle. Brown said he hadn't evaluate that possibility yet but that a vehicle is usually surplused out when a new one is purchased. "We phase one out, one way or another," he said.

The council briefly discussed including a trade-in vehicle in the specs but ultimately decided not to. City Manager Kurt Fritsch said that dealers offer vehicles to governmental entities as a service and do not make much profit, so requiring trade-in would put the dealer at a disadvantage.

The council also approved a consent agenda item that approved specs for a "pitless" truck scale at the Transfer Station. The scale now in use has been "cobbled" together a few times, said Potthoff and has been in use since the early 1990s. Recently, the scale was struck by lightning, he added. Specs call for a steel scale 11 feet by 70 feet that can hold at least 100 tons.