Supervisors approve purchase of six Kenworth dump trucks and plan auction of older units, contingent on contract review

Hancock County supervisors voted Feb. 18 to purchase six Kenworth dump trucks and to sell six existing units at auction, with key contingencies attached.

The board approved a contract to buy six Kenworth model dump trucks at $226,000 each for a total of $1,356,000, subject to county attorney review and required budget amendments. Road Department staff said the purchase would proceed on the county’s existing contract, and supervisors voted 5–0 to authorize the purchase contingent on the attorney’s approval of contract language.

On the sales side, the board approved sending six Kenworth dump trucks to a March 14 auction with a guaranteed gross proceeds amount of $1,350,000, minus auction commission (quoted during the meeting at about 6.7 percent). Road staff noted the auctioneer requires vehicles to be photographed and documented in advance and that, verbally, the auctioneer agreed to arrange marketing if trucks were available in early March.

Supervisors and staff discussed tradeoffs: the trucks were purchased within the last year, so selling them now would realize a substantial immediate loss compared with purchase price, but county staff and other counties have used coordinated auctions as a fleet turnover strategy. Concerns were raised about hold‑harmless provisions in the auction contract; the board required the county attorney to review and negotiate any objectionable contract language before final execution.

Votes: two motions carried 5–0 — to send the older trucks to auction (contingent on negotiated contract terms) and to purchase six new Kenworth dump trucks (contingent on county attorney review and budget amendment). County staff said the budget amendment will account for the purchase and anticipated auction receipts.