County urged to buy GM transport vans

WARREN — Trumbull County Commissioner Daniel E. Polivka wants a county agency to look at the cost of General Motors Corp. vans before buying Fords.

Polivka, who wants the county to buy GM products when possible, told Gary Engstrom, director of the Trumbull County Office of Elderly Affairs, to get the cost during a commissioners’ Monday work session.

Engstrom proposed buying four Ford vans to transport the elderly for a total of $166,740 through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s cooperative purchasing program.

The county operates seven vans to transport seniors who use walkers and wheelchairs and need assistance getting in and out of vehicles.

The county department has 700 clients that use the vans. The vans make a total of 7,000 one-way trips per year.

Engstrom said the three other vans need to be replaced because they have been in use since 1993 and 1996, and each has between 80,000 and 180,000 miles on them.