Local dealer wins police car bid

A local car dealership has been awarded the contract for 14 new patrol vehicles for the Enterprise Police Department.

At the Enterprise City Council meeting Feb. 22, the council unanimously awarded Ed Sherling Ford the contract for 14 Ford Interceptor Explorers to replace older model patrol vehicles.

Ed Sherling Ford, Long-Lewis Ford of Prattville and Stivers Ford Lincoln of Montgomery were the three dealerships that submitted bids for the patrol vehicles.

Ed Sherling Ford was the successful bidder with a total bid price of $26,433.28 per vehicle. Long-Lewis Ford’s total bid price per vehicle was $26,981.

Stivers Ford Lincoln’s bid of $26,068 was lower than Ed Sherling Ford’s but state regulations permit the council to select a bid from a dealer in the city limits that is up to 3 percent higher than the state bid price.

The purchase was among the items discussed at an Enterprise City Council work session Thursday, Jan. 12, after Enterprise Police Chief T.D. Jones told the council that he would like to purchase 14 Ford Interceptor Explorers to replace older model patrol vehicles.

Jones told the council that police vehicles are rotated every three years, with older vehicles being sold through the state. The rotation of the 14 vehicles, one-third of the department’s patrol vehicles, will mean all the department patrol vehicles are digitally equipped.

The decision to change from the Chevrolet Tahoes purchased previously to the Explorer was made after a significant price hike in the Chevrolet vehicles, Jones said.

Jones said if the city opted to purchase the vehicles from the state bid list, the cost for each vehicle—without camera, lights and other equipment required for law enforcers—is $25,148. The city council instead exercised their option to request bids from area dealers.

Jones said at the work session that he tended to prefer purchasing through the state bid because there is not a delay in receiving the vehicles. Jones said that Ed Sherling Ford said the vehicles would be delivered within 98 days.

Initially the council was told that should they opt to purchase the 14 vehicles locally, the total cost could be up to $11,000 higher than purchasing through the state bid list. The actual cost over initial budget was $6,065 and the council unanimously approved amending the police budget to reflect that increase.

The next meeting of the Enterprise City Council is Tuesday, March 7. The council work session is at 5 p.m. in the mayor’s conference room followed by a voting meeting at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall.