Dunkirk sticks with choice of Tahoe

DUNKIRK — The police department will soon have a new vehicle.

At a special meeting Monday, Dunkirk City Council gave Police Chief Dane Mumbower permission to pursue the purchase of a 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, with a police package and pursuit rated, from Hiday Motors at a cost not to exceed $37,196. The vehicle will come to the Bluffton dealership from Taylor Chevrolet of Lancaster, Ohio, which gave the original quote.

Mumbower plans to get a quote on the trade-in of the department’s 2013 Ford Explorer that is out of commission and email Mayor Gene Ritter and council members with the amount. A decision on the trade-in will be made at the regular council meeting Feb. 27.

At last week’s meeting, council gave Mumbower and Mayor Gene Ritter permission to check for additional prices on a Tahoe after hearing the $37,196 quote from Taylor and $33,800 from Fort Wayne’s Kelley Chevrolet in addition to quotes for a Dodge Durango for $21,648 from Fuqua Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram of Dunkirk; $21,922 from Fincannon Ford; and $24,636 from Moser Motors, all with a trade-in. That decision came following a discussion about the advantages of a Tahoe over a Durango.

Ritter said that following last week’s meeting he learned that Taylor Chevrolet couldn’t be reached and the Tahoe wasn’t available from Kelly, and that he then decided to pursue the purchase of a Durango from Fuqua. He then discussed the situation with councilman Jesse Bivens, who informed Ritter he couldn’t purchase the Durango because council had agreed to pursue the purchase of a Tahoe.

“First of all do we really need a Tahoe?” Ritter asked council when comparing it to a Durango.

He also said he had talked to Fuqua owner Rock Fuqua, who said he would try to get the Durango for the police department in four weeks instead of 12.

Ritter also noted that if the Dunkirk police need a vehicle in the interim, one could be borrowed from another city department. (Police have only one working vehicle at this time.)

“We really need to support our local city businesses,” Ritter said about purchasing from Fuqua.

Monday’s special meeting was scheduled in part because of social media backlash over the decision to buy the more expensive vehicle from an out-of-town dealer rather than the Durango from Fuqua, which provided the low quote.

But council members noted the need to do what is best to serve the needs of the police department.

“This is a shame that we can’t take care of our police department,” councilman Jack Robbins said. “We can’t get them the vehicle they ask for. A police pursuit vehicle. Not one we sell to everybody else. And to say that we don’t shop local — that’s just crazy … Let’s get our police department a vehicle and let’s do it now.”

“I’m in 100 percent agreement with Jack,” councilman Bryan Jessup, adding that he was upset because social media was allegedly saying council didn’t support buying from Fuqua.

“We have an obligation to get the right thing for our police department and we can’t just discount what the police department wants,” Jessup said.  

“We need a vehicle today,” Bivens agreed.