Ford City Deals With Vehicle Issues

Ford City Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan and President Carol Fenyes discuss the sale to the highest bidder of a 2007 Dodge dump truck and plow at last night’s meeting.

Ford City Borough Council approved the sale of a 2007 Dodge dump truck and snow plow last night while contemplate the purchase of another truck for the water plant.

The sale of the 2007 vehicle was approved to Rich Wilson of St. Marys, PA. Wilson was the highest bidder at $8,001.

Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan said there were multiple bidders.

“We had eleven bidders, the highest being $8,001 and the lowest being $2,050. We wanted to get a new dump truck, because there were a lot of maintenance issues with our current dump truck. We got the new 2019, so we were selling this one and will just have one dump truck.

Council President Carol Fenyes agreed with Klukan.

“There were maintenance issues with the previous dump truck,” she said. “We were looking at putting in another clutch for the third time. The pitted bed on the truck would have required a lot of work.”

Councilman Ray Klukan said the old dump truck was a used vehicle purchased approximately in 2010.

However, the dump truck isn’t the only vehicle that Council will consider replacing this year. As the meeting drew to a close, Fenyes said a truck utilized by the water plant staff is in a state of disrepair.

“Council has been informed that the truck from the water treatment plant will not pass inspection. It needs new brakes, the gas tank leaks, it needs a muffler, the front fenders are rotted through, there are holds in the corners of the cab, the bed, and the sides of the tailgate are rusted through. It’s a 20-year-old piece of equipment that we will be working at replacing.”

Following the meeting, Fenyes elaborated on the replacement plans.

“It’s a 1997 pickup truck that was bought used. The primary use is for the operator of the water treatment plant to come downtown and do whatever work needs done at the pumps. He checks the wells and the pumps daily. It would be nice for us to have something like a Ford Fusion or an SUV, because he doesn’t have to haul anything. It’s just driven back and forth. It would be good to have a vehicle we could swap out if anyone had to go to a class for the day - then we wouldn’t have to do a rental car. It could be a multipurpose vehicle. It would be housed at the water plant for his primary use, but on the days that we had another need, we could swap it with another truck.”

Fenyes said Council members are in discussion and she anticipates having a proposal for Council to vote on during the February 25 public work session. Council is currently checking options of buying the vehicle through the state Costars program, which means Council would not have to take bids prior to purchase.