Hempfield supervisors Monday approved spending $222,000 to buy four vehicles in a move that sparked opposition from one board member.
Supervisor George Reese questioned the quotes township officials got for the vehicles, all of which are being purchased from Smail Ford.
“That perception out there is that all this (spending) is going one way,” he said. “Why do you want to be caught up in that perception? I know I don’t.”
The vehicles will be used in the fire and public works departments. Quotes were obtained through COSTARS, the state’s cooperative purchasing program that allows the Pennsylvania Department of General Services to secure contracts for member municipalities to use.
All of the vehicle purchases were included in the 2025 budget, said Township Manager Aaron Siko.
“Some dealers provided a quote that was to the specific vehicle, some provided quotes that were not up to the specification as requested, and some chose not to provide a quote,” he said.
Two requests by Reese to table the purchases and get more information about the quotes were rejected by a board majority. Supervisors voted 3-2, with Reese and Tom Logan opposing, to buy:
• Two 2025 Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles for $44,900 each that will be used by a deputy fire chief and director of public works.
Upfits for both vehicles were approved at $27,147 and $5,333 to Kush Customs, respectively. Siko said the SUVs intended for police would be easier to add radios and lights rather than a consumer-based vehicle.
• A Ford F-550 cab and chassis for $71,174 for the public works department with a $64,900 upfit by Stevenson Equipment.
• A Ford F-450 crew cab and chassis for $60,987 for the public works department.
Public works director Austin Erhard said during a meeting last week the F-550 was initially intended to replace a truck that is more than 15 years old, but will instead take the place of a 2023 dump truck that was extensively damaged after it caught fire recently. The operator was not hurt.
“I think it’s safe to say the cab and chassis is not recoverable,” he said.
Erhard plans to give the Ford F-250 he uses to the parks department and drive the Ford Police Interceptor Utility because the pickup “in my opinion, isn’t right-sized to the needs in my department, but would be a perfect fit for the park.”
“My role in the department is basically to inspect projects and go out on complaints,” he said. “I can just as easily do that from an Explorer as I can from an F-250.”
He confirmed to Reese last week that he got multiple quotes for the vehicle purchases and provided documentation, but Reese questioned it.
“I think the documents we have here tonight lack detail and I would like to see more specific … itemized quotes,” Reese said Monday. “I think we’re spending more money, possibly, than what we should be. We got a lot of vehicles we’re looking to buy tonight from one vendor, there’s more than one vendor from our area.”
Reese said he was surprised that other Ford dealerships in the area couldn’t meet the specifications and said he believed there was an opportunity for savings on the cost.
“Are we putting the time into getting the best numbers for our taxpayers?” he said. “If we save a couple thousand here, a couple thousand there, OK, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. The residents expect us to get the best qualified quote at the best price.”