Brawley Council Approves Emergency Purchase Of Hybrid City Vehicles

By Chris Furguson
With a 4-0 vote, the Brawley City Council voted to approve an emergency bid for six hybrid vehicles at their February 2 meeting.
The vehicles, five 1/2 ton Silverado Hybrid Trucks and one Ford Hybrid Escape, will cost the city a total of $225,355 thanks to the bid from Wondries Fleet Group out of Alhambra, CA.
The other bidder, El Centro’s Desert Auto Plaza, was not able to provide needed Escape.
The money for the purchases came from a federal CMAQ grant worth $190,000 along with $35,335 in matching funds from the city.
Because of the federal source of the grant, no preference could be granted to local bidders.
The need for the emergency vote came on the heels of CalTrans changing a few schedules in Sacramento.  Public Works Director Yasmin Arrellano said her staff was expecting the purchase approval by the middle of March.
Four of the Silverado hybrid vehicles will be used by Public Works while one will be used by the Parks & Rec department.
The Escape will become a city vehicle to transport employees from one location to another.