In its regular meeting March 7, the Phil Campbell City Council opened sealed bids for a 2008 Crown Victoria police vehicle and a 1995 white Ford F350 rim gold utility truck, both previously declared surplus.

The ongoing goal is to work toward replacing the city’s older vehicles.

Tim McClemore bid $250 on the Crown Victoria, and Brett Patti, president of Emergency Remarketing in Ohio, bid $578.18. The Council approved Patti’s bid.

McClemore bid $550 on the utility truck, and Walter Evans bid $602; the council, however, did not make a motion to accept either bid.

Phil Campbell Mayor Michael McQuary said the truck had been on bid for about a month and a half.

Phil Campbell Councilman Phillip King suggested taking the bed off the truck and re-bidding without the bed. King said it’s a utility bed with tool drawers and other features, worth between $650-$1,000. “Some people needing a utility bed could save a lot of money by getting it for $1,000 or less,” he added.

King said the bid came in “way too low” for the truck as it is currently. “So, we can bid the truck off, and it will sell without the bed a lot easier and cheaper than with the bed on it.”

Phil Campbell Councilman Eddie Marbutt agreed with this idea. The council approved this plan, and Marbutt suggested waiting to see how long it would take to get the bed off the truck before putting it up for bid again.

Marbutt explained the bed is something that would be used on a rescue truck, adding it could be repurposed for use in a different city department, possibly for the fire department, and then the truck would be put back up for bid.

“If the fire department decides not to use it, it may be put up for bid again,” he added. “That’s what it was made for originally.”

In the public comments portion of the meeting, Evans – who submitted the rejected bid for the utility truck – said the vehicle would have been used for a neighborhood fire department, adding it might be preferable to leave the bed attached.

King said the council explained he was welcome to resubmit a bid and the council would help however they could.