Board agrees to purchase buses

The Colby Community College Board of Trustees reviewed bids and agreed to purchase two 2017 Ford F-750/Glaval Concorde II buses from Carpenter Bus Sales, LLC.  Each unit is priced at $149,240, which includes delivery and transport of the buses the college trades in.

The decision to purchase the buses came at a special board meeting Thursday morning.  

“In an attempt to keep business local, we were able to have Carpenter Bus purchase the chassis from Tubbs and Sons,” college president Seth Carter told trustees. “Additionally, all of the service work can be performed locally.” 

The college made a request for proposals in May and received two bids. The difference between the bids was $61,120.  Proposed trade value between the two vendors differed by $34,500, making the cumulative bid difference $95,620, with a portion of the purchase staying local. 

Carter said acquiring the two 44-passenger buses corrects a long-standing issue for the college.