Yep, it's got a Hemi -- Councilmen question vehicle specifications

The purchase of three new vehicles, two for the Police Department and one for the Fire Department, were approved Monday night by the City Council, but not without some questioning by council members over specifications.

City council members voted to approve the bid from Deveney Motors for a 2006 special 4-wheel drive vehicle for the City Fire department, but questioned Fire chief Marc Harpham about the the need of a Hemi V-8 motor to be included in the package.

Deveney Motors submitted the lowest responsible bid of $22,756, with the additional cost of $1,800 for the Hemi engine. Harpham cited higher fuel mileage, a higher resale value, and a motor strong enough to pull an equipment trailer as advantages to purchasing the Hemi motor. Right now, he said, the 1998 Blazer they are using gets 11 miles to the gallon, and is unable to pull a safety trailer.

The new vehicle, a 2006 Dodge Durango, which would be used as a command vehicle for the fire chief, would be large enough to transport EMT personnel to calls outside of the city, and has met all the required specifications.

Harpham said the vehicle would be delivered by the end of December, and then go to Lincoln to be equipped with emergency accessories such as grill guards, a siren box, radios and flashers. Lettering to match that on the fire trucks and pumper also will be done in Lincoln, for a total budget cost of $5,000.

Council members also asked Police Chief Ike Brown about the $38,035 bid from Wagner Chevrolet for two new police vehicles.

Asked by Councilman Jim Kenney if the Police Department would be satisfied with six cylinder models compared to eight cylinder, Brown replied that the six cylinder engines would have more horsepower than the current vehicles, and that the department would be satisfied with the speed and better gas mileage.

"As long as we get the bad guys," councilman Kenny quipped.

Councilman Kenny moved to approve, and Councilman Phil Lyons seconded, to award the bid to Wagner Chevrolet, with the council unanimously approving the bid package.

The two police vehicles that are being replaced will be sold as surplus after the new vehicles are put into service.

City Manager John Bingham told council members that he is in the process of gathering information from area residents who have been inconvenienced by the non-weather related flight cancellations from Great Lakes Airlines.

Non weather flight cancellations for McCook, from May to September of this

year, were documented at 62, compare to 18 with north Platte, and none for

Kearney, Grand Island, and Scottsbluff. "Flag stops" reported for

McCook during this same time period were 82, with 3 for North Platte and 4 for

Kearney.

According to Bingham, when he spoke to a representative from Great Lakes Airlines, he was told only one customer from McCook was inconvenienced by a cancellation, and that

customer was issued a voucher for $200 Bingham believes more have been inconvenienced by the cancellations.

"It's going to have to be a constant documenting of this," Bingham said, about tracking customers who have had their flight cancel led by Great Lakes

Airline.

Councilman Lyons said that because cancellations have happened so often, people just make other arrangements, such as going to North or Kearney, rather than flying from McCook.

"That's just what I want to hear about," Bingham said. "What you've described is an inconvenience."

Bingham encourages the public to contact him about their flight problems at the airport, so

that when the time comes to choose a carrier, he said the city will have information needed to make an informed choice.

Other items the city council approved unanimously include:

* the rezoning of six lots located on East 11th from Business Commercial to

Residential High Density, which would be consistent with the Five Year

comprehensive Plan of McCook;

* adopt a revised resolution which calls for maintaining a drug and alcohol

free workplace, in compliance with the city's drug free policy of 1988;

* postponed the filing of the report of the city property surplus auction held Oct. 26, until further notice.