Decatur police and fire departments are getting new radios after both departments applied for and received grants to buy new supplies.
In the monthly Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday, Fire Chief Raymond Overstreet told the board he had secured a grant through the forestry department to get new radios for Decatur Fire Department.
“It’s $4,500 for the purchase of three 700-megahertz radios,” he said.
However, Overstreet said the grant was structured to reimburse the town for the purchase, and there would be no money up front.
“You have to buy the radios first, then they reimburse you,” he said, adding the fire department did not have an extra $4,500 in its budget to make the purchase. “I need the city to buy it for us.”
With the grant already awarded, the board agreed to purchase the radios on the fire department’s behalf. When Overstreet receives the $4,500 reimbursement, that money will go to pay back the city.
Also, on Tuesday Chief of Police Joedy Pennington told the board he had heard from District Attorney Steven Kilgore, who had agreed to buy two new body cameras for the Decatur Police Department.
“That gives us five,” he said, adding the department is very grateful to Kilgore for the help.
Additionally, Pennington said, the police department had applied for a received a Justice Assistance Grant from the Bureau of Justice to buy two 700-megahertz radios as well. The radios were on order, but had not arrived yet, he said.
Between the body cameras and the radios, Pennington reported the Decatur Police Department was well-equipped to maintain public safety.
“The men have the equipment they need to do their jobs,” he said. “We’re doing good.”
In other business, the Board of Aldermen accepted PestCo’s bid to provide pest control service for city buildings in Decatur for $50 per quarter.
In their November meeting, the board realized pest control service had never been bid out, and two separate companies were supplying pest control service to city departments. To streamline the service and make the process fair for everyone, the board had voted to advertise for bids to provide pest control service at all city properties.
The Town of Decatur received three bids in total, from Newton County Pest Control, which had previously sprayed Town Hall, PestCo, which had previously sprayed the fire department, and Touchstone, a pest control service out of Collinsville.
PestCo came in with the lowest bid of $50 per quarter and a promise to provide additional spraying at no extra cost if needed.
