By Hannah Curran, Editor
ARGO — The Argo City Council approved the purchase of two new police vehicles at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 9.
Argo Police Chief Glenn Wells presented the council with the opportunity to purchase two patrol vehicles from Woody Anderson Ford located in Huntsville for $100,649.98 through the joining of the North Alabama Cooperative Purchasing Association. The price of the cars includes the paint striping and having the equipment installed.
Mayor Pro-Tem Dusty Stenson made the motion to join the North Alabama Cooperative Purchasing Association in the amount of $444.82.
Wells explained that the department plans to sell four of the older model police vehicles, and the council agreed that the amount the cars are sold for would be returned to the police equipment fund.
The council approved the motion to purchase the new vehicles, with 35 percent being paid by the police equipment fund in the amount of $35,277.49, with $69,422.49 coming from ARPA funds.
Wells explained that the department plans to sell four of the older model police vehicles, and the council agreed that the amount the cars are sold for would be returned to the police equipment fund.
“This means that we will have equipment that’s going to hold up that we’re not going to be spending money to keep them repaired like we are with the Dodge Chargers, and we are looking forward to getting two new explorers. So it’s going to be great,” Well said.
Wells said it would take a couple of months after the vehicles are purchased to have the equipment installed before being used by the Argo Police Department. The new patrol vehicles will have a different design on the side. Instead of black and white on the side, the new vehicles will be blue and gold on the side with a gold badge and “Argo Police” on the back and fender.
In other matters, the council approved the increase of the part-time clerk to two extra days a month for training. The board also approved the city to pay the invoice for the increase in the worker’s comp insurance in the amount of $2,738. They also approved the repair of the intercom system in the amount of $615 that would come out of capital improvements.
“I would like to publicly thank [Councilmember Dennis Griffin] for getting our intercoms fixed; we’ve been having a lot of issues with them,” Mayor Betty Bradley said. “So we got them out here, and Dennis, we appreciate you doing that and taking your time to do that.”
Councilmember Ann Brown publicly thanked a citizen for donating his time to install the signs for the disc golf course.
“I would like to publicly thank a person I only know as ‘Taco,'” Brown said. “He did that over the weekend and has requested that a team be allowed to play on Friday afternoons around 5:15 p.m. on our course. Everybody he said speaks very highly of our course and appreciates how well maintained it is.”
Councilmembers all agreed that the teams are welcome to play on the disc golf course.
The next council workshop will take place on Wednesday, May 25, starting at 5 p.m., and the council meeting will follow immediately after. Bradley said that the city’s mid-term budget review meeting has been moved to May 10, at 5 p.m. In addition, the city hall will be closed on May 30 for Memorial Day.