SWCD buys vehicle in Cortland

CORTLAND — The request of Trumbull County Commissioner Dan Polivka that county departments buy General Motors products and buy locally has worked out well for one county department.

Mike Wilson, executive director of the Trumbull Soil & Water Conservation District, announced that the SWCD’s board of supervisors approved buying a Chevy Trailblazer from Lou Wollam Chevrolet in Cortland on Friday. The vehicle will be used by district employees.

Wilson said he sought bids from several local dealerships, including Crown Ford Lincoln Mercury of Warren, Andretti Ford of Newton Falls, Apostalakis Honda-Mazda of Cortland, Diane Sauer Chevrolet of Warren and Warren Toyota-Volvo-Jaguar.

The price paid for the Trailblazer was $24,179.95 which was $1.06 less than the price available through the state purchasing program, Wilson said. One other bid came in at below the state purchasing program — a Ford Escape Hybrid at Crown Ford Lincoln Mercury.

Thanking dealers

“The SWCD thanks all of the local dealers who were willing to work up numbers to provide our district with bids to try to beat the state purchase pricing,” Wilson said.

Polivka recently asked that county departments and agencies that receive county funding investigate whether they could purchase their vehicles from local dealerships and to try to give first priority to General Motors vehicles.

Wilson said the county prosecutor’s office advised him that vehicles can be purchased apart from the state purchasing program as long as the political subdivision can purchase it “upon equivalent terms, conditions, and specifications, but at a lower price than it can through the state purchasing program.”