Masontown council holds on to car
MASONTOWN – The borough council was divided on whether a 1997 borough police vehicle should go or stay, and put the division in the form of a debate at Tuesday night’s regular council meeting. The council rejected four bids for the car, with the highest being $1,479, after Borough Police Chief Richard Barron, Councilwoman Carole Daniels and Councilman Harry Lee voiced their opposition to selling the vehicle.
Barron said the vehicle was obtained with grant money, and that selling it, even for the highest amount, would not equal the vehicle’s worth.
“This car was newly inspected, has good tires and is ready to go,” he said, noting he would like to keep the vehicle for the winter months. “The vehicle has worth for the police department. I can’t put a value on that.”
He added that by the time a technician was hired to remove the VASCAR and the radios from the vehicle, the borough would only be gaining $900 if they accepted the highest bid.
“Nine hundred dollars is not going to make or break us,” he said.
In addition, the car would serve as a spare in case another vehicle breaks down, officers use it to get to court and it cost the borough a minimal amount – an inspection and an oil change – to maintain this year, the police chief added.
The motion to reject the bids was approved 4-1. Councilman Tom Loukota was the sole council member to vote “no” to the decision.
“To pay for something we know they hardly use is ridiculous,” said Loukota. “We have a spare for a spare. We’re trying to save money.”
“I know we’re trying to save money, but why get rid of something that’s worth some money?” Mayor Walter Scarton asked.
“We waste money on other things,” Daniels added.
“Well, we should close those gaps, too,” Loukota countered. “I think the car served its purpose. It will become a liability, it has a lot of miles on it, he’s talking about the steering and it’s hard to tell what will happen next.”
The council voted to put the police car out to bid at the last meeting.
On Tuesday night, Daniels rescinded her “yes” vote from that previous meeting because she said the police department or the mayor was not informed of the decision.
“I was under the impression the police department knew about us selling the car,” Daniels said.
Council President Joe Volansky said it has been common knowledge that council voted to sell the car.
He said the cost to Masontown for the car exceeds what the vehicle is worth.
“I think you make a good point that it’s a valuable product,” Volansky told Barron. “But when we’re talking about soaking $300 in repairs, then it’s a cost factor of whether it’s feasible to keep the car.”
Before the vote to reject all bids, Volansky asked Barron whether the car will be utilized more, noting that it sits 98 percent of the time.
“Sure, that’s not a problem,” Barron responded. “I can have it used every day.”