City fleet boosts fuel efficiency

Published 8:21 pm Monday, March 26, 2012

Vehicles purchased by Dowagiac City Council Monday night are meant to make a leaner fleet more fuel-efficient.

Three two-wheel-drive, six-cylinder half-ton Ford trucks purchased from C. Wimberley cost $38,343 for the Department of Public Services after trades and one administrative vehicle, a 2012 Chevy Impala, for the other DPS, the Department of Public Safety from C. Wimberley costs $20,798. Berger bid $102.50 less, but would require driving to Grand Rapids to pick up the car.

“Department heads believe we can reduce the number of vehicles in the fleet as well as reduce the engine size of several vehicles,” City Manager Kevin Anderson said. “These reductions will allow us to reduce operating cost by reducing the cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel.”

Vehicle purchases are funded from capital funds annually set aside in the motor pool fund. Except for one six-cylinder, remaining trucks are eight cylinder and mostly four-wheel drive. Five vehicles are part of the reduction, with one transferred to the fire station for plowing.

“The annual cost savings from both insurance and maintenance would exceed $3,000 annually,” said DPS Director Jim Bradford.

In other March 26 business, council awarded the spring clean-up program to sole bidder Michiana Recycling of Niles. Based on five years of data, clean-up the week of April 23-27 is expected to cost $9,385.

As Cassopolis did, Dowagiac adopted the several-hundred-page Cass County Hazard Mitigation Plan as the city’s official plan.

City observances

Dowagiac observes Arbor Day noon to 3 p.m. April 28 at Rotary Park. Other events granted council approval: Knights of Columbus Council 2113 Tootsie Roll Drive, March 30-31 and April 1; Lions White Cane Drive, April 26-28; expanded Women’s Health Fair utilizing Farr Park adjacent to Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, May 3-4; Community-Wide Garage Sale, May 25-26; and the citywide carnival, ACTION’s Dowagiac Family Reach-Out, June 16 in Northwest Park (youth soccer fields).

Appointments

Reappointed Brad Yazel to the Airport Board for a term expiring May 2017; appointed Assistant City Manager Rose Scherr to the Building Authority for the unexpired term of the finance director until May 2014; reappointed Barb Wegner to the Cemetery/Tree Board for a term expiring May 2017; and reappointed Linda Lorenz and Joan Lyons to the Dial-A-Ride Transit (DART) board for terms expiring May 2017.