- March 28, 2024
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The Palm Coast City Council agreed to purchase eight Ford pickup trucks and one Ford SUV.
The Palm Coast City Council agreed Tuesday, June 12, to purchase nine new vehicles to upgrade its fleet.
The vehicles have already been budgeted, City Manager Jim Landon said.
The city will purchase eight Ford pickup trucks and one Ford SUV totaling $189,204.
The trucks will come from three different dealerships, none of which is from Flagler County.
According to city officials, local dealerships aren’t involved in selling government vehicles.
Landon said the city pays cash when it purchases new vehicles.
“Each year, the different departments contribute money to that,” he said. “These dollars are already in the bank and specific for this purpose.”
The replaced vehicles then get sent off to an auction.
Each vehicle, on average, sells for about $2,000 to $3,000, according to Finance Director Chris Quinn.
The money made at the auction goes back into the fleet fund for future purchases.
City to wait on compressed natural gas for its fleet
The City Council also decided Tuesday to put the brakes on moving forward with converting its fleet to compressed natural gas.
Waste Pro, under the new five-year waste-collection contract with the city, is scheduled to build a compressed natural gas facility in Bunnell.
Although the agreement will allow for Palm Coast to fuel its vehicles there, city officials think construction of the facility is about a year away.
The City Council agreed that now is not the best time to switch its fleet to CNG-fueled vehicles.
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts said there are advantages to using compressed natural gas.
“But the reality is, is that it doesn’t sound like we’re ready to spend taxpayers’ dollars on those nice-to-have amenities,” he said.
Councilman Frank Meeker suggested city staff look into state grant money for its vehicles if the city is using environmentally friendly fuel alternatives.
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