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A shortage of vehicles on local lots has forced the Andalusia City Council to amend a previously-approved vehicle purchase.

Earlier, the city council approved to purchase a Ford 1500 pickup truck for the Department of Building and Maintenance, but the local dealership has not been able to secure the vehicle. Instead, the council agreed to purchase the truck from the state bid list at an amount not to exceed $40,000.

The local dealership had provided the low bid when it was initially let.

“It’s just a supply chain problem. We hate that it happened this way, but we need to move forward to get this vehicle,” said Mayor Earl Johnson.

The only other item on the council’s agenda for its Feb. 1 meeting was approving a contract with Covington County for the housing of city inmates at the county jail.

The council approved the contract, which is the same as the previous contract, and will be in place through Sept. 31, 2022.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 15, 6 p.m., at city hall. The public is invited to attend.