Commerce City council set to consider $110,000 mobile command vehicle purchase
The proposed purchase from South Adams County Fire would move money from an unallocated police appropriation to the Fleet Management Fund for a 2021 emergency vehicle.
Commerce City’s City Council is scheduled to consider final approval Sept. 21 of a $110,000 purchase of a mobile command vehicle from the South Adams County Fire Department.
Ordinance 2796 would transfer the money from an unallocated Police Department appropriation in the city’s General Fund to the Fleet Management Fund and authorize the purchase. The council advanced the ordinance on first reading Aug. 24.
The vehicle is a 2021, 40-foot Thor recreational vehicle that South Adams County Fire bought new and outfitted for emergency operations. City staff described it as being in excellent condition and meticulously maintained, with communications equipment and Starlink service installed.
The city plans to use the vehicle for critical incidents, SWAT and investigative callouts, major-accident investigations, natural disasters, mutual-aid requests, community events and large outside events. Staff said it would allow emergency operations to continue for longer periods and in poor weather.
Staff estimated that a new vehicle with comparable equipment would cost about $500,000. The city also plans to sell an existing Police Department vehicle that staff said is less suitable for use as a command post, although the records do not identify that vehicle or establish whether a sale has occurred.
The ordinance says the city and South Adams County Fire would enter into an intergovernmental agreement to facilitate the sale, purchase and transfer. The records provided do not include the agreement’s final terms or a vehicle service date.