The Coos Bay City Council voted to award a 36‑month tow‑company of record contract to Mass Brothers Towing after a competitive request-for-qualification (RFQ) process produced a single responsive bid.

Captain Schaeffer of the Coos Bay Police Department told the council the city's prior rotation among multiple tow companies caused delays and operational problems for dispatch and officers. "There was a lot of issues with the rotation ... we decided that we wanted one tow company, a tow company of record," Captain Schaeffer said, describing dispatcher overload and on‑scene conflicts under the old system.

Staff told councilors the existing contract had expired earlier in the year (the police tow contract model had been in place for several years) and the RFQ deadline was June 20, 2025. The staff report and the captain cited state legislative changes (identified in the meeting as House Bill 3124 and House Bill 3115) that increased storage and access requirements for unlawful and abandoned vehicles; those requirements made it necessary for a contractor to be able to store motor homes and other vehicles for extended periods and provide access for owners to retrieve property.

The contract applies to police‑initiated tows (impounds and unlawful or abandoned vehicle removals). Captain Schaeffer emphasized that private vehicle owners may continue to select any tow company when their vehicle is disabled or when they request a tow; the contract covers only tows ordered by law enforcement.

A resident, Joel Fox, asked whether multiple tow companies ever arrived at the same call and whether conflicts over who tows had occurred. Captain Schaeffer said multiple companies have sometimes responded but described the single company-of-record model as reducing those operational problems.

Councilors discussed that the prior agreement had been intentionally short to allow other operators time to meet RFQ storage and insurance requirements; staff said North Bend Towing had examined options to meet storage requirements but did not submit a responsive proposal by the deadline. A council member moved to award the 36‑month contract to Mass Brothers Towing; the motion was seconded and passed with no recorded opposition.

The award follows the city's competitive RFQ process (the staff presentation referenced ORS 2 79 as the procurement authority as presented in the meeting). Staff said they would continue to encourage other local tow companies to meet RFQ requirements for future solicitations.