Iola’s purchasing policy — and whether it’s penny-wise to spend a few extra dollars by shopping locally — is once again under the microscope.
City Council members voted to purchase three new vehicles from Twin Motors Ford in Iola — a pair of 2022 Ford Police SUVs for the Iola Police Department and a 2022 Ford Explorer for use within other departments for a combined cost of $102,800, or roughly $5,000 more than the city would pay had it gone with the low bid from Olathe Ford.
The 4.8% difference is within the 7% threshold set in Iola’s purchasing policy to give favor to local vendors.
Nevertheless, Council members Carl Slaugh and Kim Peterson both spoke out in favor of going with the low bid.
Slaugh noted that even though the city was buying from a business outside Iola’s region, the vehicles likely still would be serviced locally anyway, thus negating one benefit of buying from an Iola business..
Other Council members like Josiah D’Albini and Joel Wicoff, countered the argument, saying it’s advantageous to keep dollars local.
Mayor Steve French welcomed the Council to further discuss whether Iola’s purchasing policy should be amended, but favored sticking with what’s already in place for this bid.
French noted if he had submitted a bid under the current policy, only to see the city deviate from its policy and go elsewhere, “I’d be pretty pissed off.”
To cap the debate, Slaugh made a motion, supported only by Peterson, to go with the Olathe Ford bid, with D’Albini, Wicoff, Mark Peters, Nich Lohman, Joelle Shallah and Nickolas Kinder opposed.
A subsequent motion, to go with Twin Motors, passed, 6-2, with the “yay” and “nay:” votes reversed.
Wicoff had little appetite for amending Iola’s purchasing policy, noting he was involved when it was set about 10 years ago, joking that “it was a lot of fun to write.”
“We should comply with our purchasing policy and support our community, especially in these times,” he added.
WATER PLANT superintendent Toby Ross gave the Council a refresher course on how Iola treats and distributes roughly 1 million gallons of potable water each day.
Sales are dictated primarily by the weather, he noted.
So unlike farmers, Ross has no qualms in hoping for a dryer than normal 2022, “so we can make money,” he joked.
Ross also oversees the city’s wastewater lagoons south of town, which have about 17 years worth of sludge that eventually will need to be cleared away.
