At Monday’s regular meeting, the Belleville City Council gave Police Chief Gene Taylor approval to obtain two free Humvee vehicles from federal surplus property.
The two vehicles will be brought up from Ft. Bragg, Kentucky and evaluated by the city and both the police and fire departments.
Once evaluated, a decision would be made on whether or not the vehicles could be outfitted and put into service by the police and fire departments.
Chief Taylor explained to the council that one vehicle would replace the department’s 12-year-old police car that is rarely used and then only for transportation as it does not have a radio, lights, computer or even a backseat. The suspension is also not up to safety standards.
Chief Taylor added that he has been in contact with a local business that would repaint both Humvees at a very-good or next-to-nothing price.
The second Humvee would be evaluated by Fire Chief Lee Grant to see if it could be put into the city fleet of fire vehicles. The Humvee would be outfitted and brought up to standards to serve as a brush response vehicle, a requirement in mutual aid with other area fire departments. Currently, the city does not have a working brush vehicle.
The vehicle’s main purpose would be to access brush fires, access along railroad tracks and other off-road emergencies. Chief Grant added that the vehicle could also be used to make the annual rounds within the city to service the fire hydrants.
The Humvee would replace a 35-year-old pick-up truck the department uses that was given to them by the DPW.
Belleville City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said it would not cost any more to add them to the existing insurance policies, a concern brought up by council members.
Once the Humvees are in town and evaluated, Chiefs Taylor and Grant will give a report to the council.
In other business, the council heard a presentation from Kathryn Dimond of the Detroit Institute of Arts thanking the City and Downtown Development Authority for hosting Inside/Out Outdoor Art Exhibit in Downtown Belleville.
The council also approved a water meter finance contract with Municipal Finance Solutions to purchase new water meters from SLC Meters. The city would like to reduce the water loss percentage of 20% to 12 or 13%, which they believe will take place once the new meters are installed and operating.
Once purchased, the meter system would take about six months to arrive and several more months to install.