Council approves purchase of ADA-accessible bus and 15-passenger van for parks programs

Kurt Wolf, parks and recreation director, told the council staff found a used ADA-accessible bus below the originally budgeted new-bus price and that adding a 15-passenger van would increase seating capacity for recreation programming while remaining within the department’s CIP allocation.

"I just think there's a great opportunity here," Kurt Wolf said, describing program benefits and options to sublease vehicles to local nonprofits to offset maintenance costs. The bus purchase came in at roughly $44,070; the 15-passenger 2023 Ford Transit van purchase agreement was presented at $53,395 (not to exceed the approved CIP allocation).

Councilors discussed seat counts, ADA accessibility, the value of a city-maintained vehicle fleet for small nonprofits, and the need for a simple sublease policy. A motion to authorize the mayor to execute a purchase agreement for the 2023 Ford Transit 350 van (and related documents) passed on a roll-call vote; council also approved acquiring the ADA-accessible bus under the same CIP allocation.