Charitable Retirement for King County Metro Vans

June 22, 2009

Summary

Story

Valley Cities Consulting and Counseling receives a van from Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer.

As part of King County’s annual Retired Van Donation Program, Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer secured three retired King County vanpool vans. The organizations will receive the vans are Valley Cities Counseling and Consultation, Pacific/Algona Community Center Youth Program, and the Federal Way School District Merit Program.

“These organizations work hard to make a dollar stretch in order to improve the quality of life for our region’s residents” said Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. “I know vans will have a fulfilling retirement transporting those who need them the most.”

Since 1996 the King County Council has distributed over 250 retired vans to various non-profit organizations. After eight years in the King County Fleet Division, the vans are retired and prepared for donation.

In 1995 King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer began the program after noticing a substantial number of King County vans sitting idle (as much as 30% of the total 741 vehicle fleet). Pete found out that due to an inefficient bulk purchasing policy, the County was housing over $3.8 million worth of excess, unused vehicles.

As chair of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, Pete responded by proposing a more cost-effective method of procuring smaller shipments of vans as needed and extending the retirement age of the vehicles from five to eight years.

Pete proposed that a portion of the significant savings of the new policies go towards a program that would donate the retired vans to local non-profits throughout the region. The county van pool program began in 1996 as a pilot project; and has now has now been institutionalized as part of the Metro Transit van pool program.