Grundy County approves $43,685 purchase of new minivan for Veterans Assistance Commission

The Grundy County Board approved a $43,685 purchase of a new minivan from Greenway Motors in Morris for the Veterans Assistance Commission.

County Administrator Mary Kucharz said the county saved $1,315 off the budgeted $45,000. She said the Veterans Assistance Commission has been wanting and needing a vehicle for a while.

Chairman Chris Balkema pointed out to the board that the bid accepted isn’t the lowest bid, and Ken Buck, the Veterans Assistance Commission Director, explained why.

“The reason we picked Greenway is they are local, especially for warranty work,” Buck said. “I was wanting somebody local, even if we didn’t purchase the van locally, I wanted someone with a make and model local for warranty work and repair. I didn’t want to spend eight hours schlepping to Joliet or Ottawa to get a vehicle repaired.”

Buck said Sierra Motors was a little under, but the other two dealerships didn’t have the vehicles on-site and they would’ve needed to be ordered. Greenway had the minivan available right away.