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Gilliam County Court approves purchase of two hybrid transport vehicles
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Summary
The county authorized the purchase of two replacement passenger vehicles for the transportation program after staff presented three dealer quotes and confirmed budgeted funding; the board voted to approve the purchases and authorized the transportation director to sign agreements.
Tom Lake, the county transportation director, told the Gilliam County Court on April 1 that the county obtained three local dealer quotes to replace two aging non‑ADA passenger vehicles and recommended buying Grand Highlander models from Rogers Toyota.
"We have funding for 2 vehicles," Lake said, adding the lowest quoted price was $50,100.92 per vehicle and that the transportation fund had $60,000 budgeted for the purchases. He said the replacements are expected to improve fuel economy to "approximately 36 miles a gallon on both of these vehicles," versus about 27 mpg for the current Siennas.
The court moved and seconded a motion to approve the purchase and to authorize the transportation director to execute purchase agreements. Commissioner Wilkins and the presiding commissioner voted in favor; the motion carried.
Lake said he did not include trade‑in values in the packet because final trade values were not yet known and that he would report back with final pricing once trade offsets were applied. He also said the county had researched electric options but found the local charging infrastructure and long, round‑trip medical transport demands mean hybrids were the better near‑term choice.
The county will use the approved transportation funding—Lake said part of the cost will be covered by reimbursements available to the transportation program—and will return with final numbers after trade‑in credits are applied.
