Grant buys 120 hybrid, ‘flex fuel’ squad cars
Post-Tribune
More of Gary's men and women in blue could be driving green by spring.
The Board of Works on Wednesday voted to advertise for vendors to provide up to 120 "flex fuel" and hybrid vehicles for the city's police department.
The ads will be published in newspapers and on the Internet next week, and the board could open bids by its Feb. 17 meeting, if qualified bidders can meet the demand. The money, which was approved last month, will come from a $3.1 million federal grant, said Christopher Meyers, planning director.
Flex fuel vehicles are designed to run on more than one kind of fuel. For example, they can run on gasoline only or a combination of gasoline and more eco-friendly ethanol.
The grant money comes from the Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality Program, Meyers said, and other communities in Northwest Indiana, such as Portage, also received grant money.
"Everything is in order, and all the cities that have received the money are moving forward," he said.
The bulk of the city's order will be 86 four-door flex fuel sedans, but the city is also seeking more than 30 flex fuel and hybrid sport utility vehicles and trucks with snow plows.
Hybrid vehicles can alternate between internal combustion engines and electric motors.
The board also approved the first distribution -- $381,500 -- from the $28.2 million grant the Regional Development Authority awarded Gary to upgrade the 200-acre Marquette Park on the southern tip of Lake Michigan.
The initial money will pay for the extensive planning in Phase 1, which includes paying consultants to help city planners come up with a master plan to present to the Gary City Council by May, Meyers said.
In other business, the board accepted a $105,250 appraised value on the former site of the public safety building at 13th and Broadway. The city's department of redevelopment sought the appraisal to set a price tag on 1301 Broadway and $54,500 worth of parcels on the 700 block of East 5th Ave and the 500 block of Carolina Street "for commercial development."
