MATTAWA – Previously surplused vehicles that were never sold was one of the topics of discussion during the Mattawa City Council’s recent meeting.

In 2017, two vehicles were declared surplus by the City of Mattawa. They had previously been police vehicles. In 2019, the vehicles were decommissioned and stripped of police gear. At the time, Juan Ledezma, Mattawa’s Public Works director, offered to help the police department with the selling of the vehicles. But the vehicles were never sold.

The question about the status of the vehicles was raised by Mattawa City Council member Tony Acosta. City staff has started using one of the vehicles for transportation to trainings.

“I know they have been sitting out there for a while,” Acosta said. “I want to make sure the paperwork is straight.”

Mattawa’s attorney, Katherine Kenison, said that it was OK for the city to decide to keep a surplus vehicle. The council will need to unsurplus it. The vehicle was originally a police vehicle that was not appropriate for the job it was intended to do. Mayor Scott Hyndman said that if it were to break down while going to a police call, it would be a problem. If the car were to break down while going to a training, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

The other vehicle will continue to stay on the surplus list. No final decisions about the vehicles were made during the meeting.

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at rpinkerton@suntribunenews.com.