Ford City Police Car Remains For Sale
A former Ford City Borough police car will be re-advertised for sale after only one bid was received.
by Jonathan Weaver
A pair of police vehicles was taken out of the Ford City Police fleet in March, but one of those vehicles still remains in Ford City Borough.
A white 1998 Ford Crown Victoria is parked outside the borough municipal building unsold after Borough Council refused the only monetary bid received. It will be returned unopened to the bidder, Council President Carol Fenyes said.
“We only had one bid returned on the 1998 Crown Victoria,” Fenyes said. “We would like to have more than one bid.”
Fenyes explained to former Councilman Jerry Miklos that historically, it is not an uncommon practice for Borough Council to seek more bids before an item is indeed sold.
Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan recommended Ford City Borough advertise the vehicle on MuniciBid.com – a website that auctions off things such as vehicles, equipment and furniture/office equipment previously utilized by municipalities across the United States.
MuniciBid was utilized by Armstrong County to successfully sell vehicles and other power generators earlier this year.
“That’s something we should consider,” Klukan said. “Potentially we could get more hits on a website as well.”
The original bidder will be notified the vehicle is still for sale.
The vehicle is currently utilized by Ford City Ordinance Enforcement Officer Michele Meixelberger, but one resident at last week’s council meeting said the vehicle would be “worth scrap” and is best suited for demolition derbies.
As of Friday, there were at least three other Ford Crown Victoria vehicles driven in Pennsylvania towns on the MuniciBid website for sale.
In March, police officers began driving a 2015 Ford Interceptor purchased from a Blairsville dealership and a 2010 Ford Crown Victoria purchased from Harmony Township.
At the time, Fenyes was glad the new vehicles will prove reliable to ensure public safety. The Ford Crown Victoria had transmission problems when it was taken out of service.
All six council members approved paying $7,000 for the 2010 Ford Crown Victoria during a February special meeting.
In the newly-adopted budget, council members budgeted $12,000 for a police vehicle.
In early-February, council members unanimously approved the purchase of the Ford Interceptor from Tri-Star of Blairsville. The car was sold for more than $33,200 through the State cooperative purchasing program – COSTARS.
Fenyes said the Ford Interceptor expense includes $24,000 for the vehicle and $9,000 for lighting and emergency upgrades. The car will be purchased utilizing four years of financing from S&T Bank.
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By Rick A, October 17, 2016 @ 4:54 PM
The car pictured is the wrong car. I know because I own this one !!! the one for bid is in the parking lot of the office building. Thanks, Eric
By jorn jensen, October 17, 2016 @ 9:00 PM
Well, let’s think about this a little. 1998, probably delivered in 1997 - 19 years old. Greco’s is paying $5/cwt for cars scrap - figure the car to weigh 50 cwt’s - that’s $250 they’ll pay for it. And you had one bidder and you didn’t open the bid.
Pass up a million dollar gas contract that would have been good for the whole town, default on $600k to the fed,but spend a pile of time on s police car. I realize that was other councils that blundered the other deals - but the legacy is there.
Here’s an idea - shine it up, service it, fill the tank with corn-free gasoline at Bradigans and put it in dry heated storage in one of the borough’s buildings. In 6 years, get it out, put an antique plate on it and run it in the Fjord City parade.