The Town of Winthrop’s surplused fleet of worn-out police vehicles hasn’t drawn enough bidders, and the town will lower the minimum bids in an attempt to empty its used car lot.
While the town recently sold a 2005 Ford Explorer (128,964 miles), it received no bids on a 2002 Dodge Durango (123,546 miles) that has a blown transmission. Both had a minimum bid of $500.
At last week’s meeting, the Town Council agreed with a staff recommendation that the Dodge be put up for sale again with no minimum bid.
In addition, the town is still hoping to sell the so-called “purple police car” — a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) vehicle that in recent years has appeared in parades or parked near the ball field in Winthrop with a manikin in the driver’s seat, intended to deter speeders.
The town had set a minimum bid of $5,000 for the Trans Am because the model is a collector’s item, and the car has only 62,500 miles on the odometer. Town staff is now reconsidering the minimum bid and the car will be on the block again soon.
In other business, the council changed its regular May 20 meeting to May 19, 7 p.m. at the Henhouse Room at the Winthrop Barn, so that council members can attend an Association of Washington Cities conference on May 20 at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp.
