BOTKINS — The Village of Botkins will have brand new police vehicles in just a couple weeks.
Tuesday night the Botkins Village Council voted to purchase two new police vehicles.
On the morning of Sept. 24, Botkins Police Chief Tom Glass was involved in an accident that totally destroyed the police vehicle he was driving.
Glass and Village Administrator Ryan Piche immediately went to work looking for a new vehicle to purchase. While the main vehicle of the department can not be used, the second vehicle has been worked overtime and is experiencing some ticking noises in the motor that mechanics do not know how to fix without taking the whole thing apart.
This second vehicle was due to be replaced in November and was planned for in the village budget.
Two options were presented to council Tuesday night by Glass and Piche. The first to purchase two 2014 cruisers out of the 2015 budget. They have never been driven, therefore, brand new. The total cost for those would be $57,828, but because of the insurance rebate from the accident, the real total cost would be $42,503.
The reason they proposed buying both now, instead of waiting until 2016, which was the second option, is because they found them now, they seem to be a pretty good deal, they’re on the lot and available, and beginning with 2016, the state contract is going to roll over; they are two year contracts with police vehicles, Piche said.
So at the end of 2015, the old contract expires and the new contract goes into place. That new contract, since it has to last until 2018, would probably increase their prices, he said. We might be able to steal them now a little cheaper.
The dealership has on the lot, two all-wheel drive V8 engine Dodge Chargers and two two-wheel drive V8 engine Dodge Chargers. They decided on these because they are already built and they would be getting them for the price of a V6 engine. Glass said they had been looking at the all-wheel drive ones because they sometimes have issues in the winter getting around.
After discussion about the needs and wants of the village and the police department, the council voted to approve the purchase of one all-wheel drive Charger and one two-wheel drive Charger.
In other business the council discussed the Edgewood Street grant application. The county engineer suggested they change their contribution from 35 percent to 45 percent, and to take out engineering and pay that out of pocket. This means their cash contribution would stay the same at $155,000, and they would get a $70,000 loan to cover the rest of the cost.
Piche said this would make their contribution $195,000 and the state’s contribution $221,000. This hasn’t been approved yet, but they will know by Jan. 1 if they have been approved with the changes. Piche said it is a strong application, a lot of other villages are asking for 80 to 90 percent from the state.
There are only four council meetings left in the year. At these meetings the 2016 budget will be finalized by council.
