On Oct. 2, the Christian County Commission approved the purchase of a 2026 Chevy Equinox for the assessor’s office, awarding the purchase to EnRoute under the Missouri state contract for new motor vehicles.

County staff said the county issued an invitation to 11 state-qualified vendors, received two bids and recommended awarding to EnRoute as the lowest and best overall provider. “Bids were issued Sept. 19 and opened Sept. 25. We received two bids. One was from EnRoute and one was from Bellman Chevrolet,” Kim, county staff, said. Kim reported the EnRoute price as $29,061.90 and Bellman Chevrolet’s price as $31,069.90 and said Assessor Jeremy Burns reviewed the bids and “feels comfortable with the Chevy Equinox.”

Commissioners discussed color and vehicle disposition; the new vehicle will be white. The county plans to transfer the existing used vehicle to the sheriff by verbal agreement with Sheriff Cole. Presiding Commissioner Lynn Horton said staff have been working to sell underused county vehicles and equipment and to reallocate assets where needed. “If we’re not utilizing a car or a truck or a piece of equipment ... we’ve put it on the market to sell, and we’ve sold a lot of stuff,” Horton said.

A motion to approve the purchase passed unanimously. The motion received a second and commissioners Lynn Horton, Johnny Williams and Bradley Jackson voted in favor. The purchase used the state’s 2025 new motor vehicle vendor contracts and was presented as a routine procurement under the state contract process.

The approved purchase replaces an existing county vehicle; staff indicated the used vehicle will be reassigned to the sheriff’s office. The commission approved the consent agenda, which included the appointment of Lisa Mclean to the Christian County Senior Service Fund to replace Bill Barnett, earlier in the meeting.