Although three new pickup trucks will be purchased by the City of North Bay out of town, the warranty work will remain local.
Council voted to approve a $132,730 contract to Blue Mountain Chrysler based in Collingwood to buy three new, half-ton pickup trucks.
The Collingwood dealership’s bid was $744 cheaper than North Bay-based Farquhar Chrysler, which Coun. Bill Vrebosch says garnered some local blowback.
“We’re getting kind of beat up on this because it’s out of town,” he said during Tuesday’s meeting. “I think we have to clarify with the people that we have to stick with the rules and our purchasing bylaw, the way it is, allows for these bids to be from out of town.”
The city’s purchasing bylaw’s key objectives state that purchases are to be made “with a focus on best value”, to “encourage the most open, competitive bidding process” and “the objective and equitable treatment of all vendors.”
Vrebosch said he recognizes the frustrations of the process in that “it’s only 800 dollars”, but said, “there are rules and we have to stick to them.”
“There is a local component to this,” added Deputy Mayor Tanya Vrebosch, saying the warranty work on the vehicles will be done in North Bay.
Three current trucks are due for replacement in order to “maintain cost-effective life cycles”, the staff report states. The new trucks will be used for municipal operations and emergency response.
