New police cars were one of the main topics at the Columbia Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday night.
Police Chief Michael Kelly said they had four Crown Victorias that are 9 and 10-years old. They also have four Tahoes they are considering replacing.
Kelly said they might be able to sell the Tahoes for enough that will allow for the purchase of new Dodge Chargers to replace all four. If so the only expense would be $6,700 to make the cars police-ready, including the graphics. The cost of the Charger is $22,450 each before being made police-ready. He advised if he can get the order in the new vehicles will be ready by the end of February or first of March.
“The parts for the Crown Vics have been swapped out with the one at the shop. Some of the mechanics are not wanting to work on them anymore because they feel they are not safe to drive without a major overhaul,” Mayor Justin McKenzie said.
McKenzie said he would like to replace four cars at a time and finance them the same way the Tahoes were with paying off one per year. He said he is not wanting to swap out all eight vehicles at one time either, but prefers doing either the Tahoes first or the Crown Victorias.
After discussion with the board, Kelly is going to find out what the Tahoes will sell for and report back to the board for a decision to be made.
City Engineer Jeff Dungan discussed the work that needs to be done on the Columbia-Purvis Road bridge by Beacon Supply. The work, which will take six weeks to complete, will not be done until the spring. One of the issues Dungan said was determining where to do the detour. After speaking with the supervisors and the aldermen, it was decided the best place for the detour is Lampton-Hilltop Road which will connect to Mississippi 13 South.
Dungan advised the work at the Water Works building is now complete and so is Bluff Street Park.
Mayor Justin McKenzie advised he received an estimate, which was approved, to purchase tables and chairs for the Duckworth Center at a cost of $4,299.
Discussion was held about the traffic flow problems on the east side of Second Street. With the construction of the ice rink there have been concerns regarding all of the equipment and vehicles blocking the flow of traffic. McKenzie said he has spoken with Jacob Harrison of Experience Columbia to ensure people can either make a U-turn at Second Street and Honey Alley or turn right and travel down the alley to Church Street.
