2 Port Royal department heads are getting new trucks. Town says it’s the ‘right time’
The Public Works and Police departments in Port Royal are getting four new pickups after the Town Council voted Wednesday to spend up to $165,000 on the vehicles.
The new trucks will be designated for administrative use and replace aging vehicles with high mileage, including new rides for Police Chief Alan Beach and Public Works Director Jeff Coppinger, Town Manager Van Willis said.
Beach, Willis said, has been driving the same 2007 vehicle for at least 10 years.
And one item that council members were adamant about during a recent council retreat to discuss the town’s 2022 priorities, Willis said, was that Coppinger get a new vehicle “because he never asks for anything.”
“He doesn’t ask,” Mayor Joe DeVito added, “so sometimes we have to help him out.”
The other two vehicles will be used in the Police Department as well, Willis said.
Council members stipulated that no more than $165,000 could be used in the purchase, which equates to $41,250 each. The town will be able to buy the vehicles for below state contract pricing, Willis said.
State contract pricing is available to local governments when they purchase goods and services under existing state contracts to save duplication and money.
It’s the “right time, right place,” Willis said of the purchases.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 8:41 AM.
