Allen Community College is poised to update its aging fleet of vehicles.
It comes with a hefty price tag, but one that trustees anticipate will save the college in the long run.
Trustees approved Tuesday a proposal from Enterprise Fleet Management to help oversee the college’s collection of 22 vehicles used by employees and students on a regular basis.
The maneuver carries hefty up-front costs, pegged at $403,000 the first year, and additional $393,000 or so in year two.
But swallowing that pill is necessary, Trustee Corey Schinstock noted, pointing to the age and condition of the fleet.
The college has not replaced any of the vehicles since 2021, and seven of the 22 units are at least 10 years old.
“Our vehicles are embarrassing when you see them with the Allen logo,” Schinstock said.
And costly to maintain.
Brandon Scott, a senior account executive with Enterprise, projected replacing the vehicles will reduce the college’s annual maintenance costs by 77% and fuel costs by more 40%.
Additionally, 11 of the 20 light- and medium-duty vehicles do not have the most up-to-date safety features, such as antilock brake control, airbag standardization and electronic stability control, Scott wrote in his proposal.
He predicted the newer fleet would save the college more than $30,000 on its light duty fleet over the next decade compared to the current strategy, while reducing the average age of the fleet from 11-plus years to under five years.
Under the agreement, Allen will replace 20 vehicles in the first two years; those costs are included in the agreement.
SCOTT explained Enterprise’s management system.
“What I always tell people is to think of us as a financial advisor, but for your vehicles,” Scott said.
Under the proposal, Enterprise would be responsible for repairs and routine maintenance (aside from tires and brakes.) Enterprise works with 10 different maintenance shops within 25 miles of the Iola campus to handle the upkeep.
Just as importantly, Enterprise also will continue to collect reams of data on the more than 1.1 million vehicles the organization buys and sells annually, to determine if the college would be better off replacing vehicles quicker than ACC otherwise would have.
