OTTAWA – These days, no one wants to sell Sheriff Jeff Curry any new patrol cars. Once again, Curry had to change his plan on buying six patrol cars. Commissioners agreed to Plan C this morning. After scrapping a first round of bids, Curry sought to buy six Dodge Chargers. On the second round, a Paola dealership had the low bid but Curry told commissioners when he looked at the bid, he discovered that the dealer had left off one item, a special system of emergency strobes designed to supplement the rooftop emergency-light bars. The strobes are an important safety item that makes it easier for motorists to see patrol cars that are responding to an emergency, he said. Adding on the strobes would have pushed the price of the cars above the second lowest bidder, he said. Commissioners awarded the bid to the second lowest bidder, Overland Park Jeep. Originally, he had planned to buy three Chevy Caprices but because of a dealer mistake, he cancel the order and went to the only other available patrol car models — the Chargers. He told commissioners he would also talk to the owners of South Star Chrysler of Ottawa, which have been critical of the bid process. However, South Star had the high bid in the second round of bidding.
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 3:30 p.m.
