Community Corner
City Council Approves Spending for Crime Van Canopy and Meals-on-Wheels Vans
At Monday night's meeting, the Meriden City Council approved funds for a police department storage canopy and two Meals on Wheels vans.
The City Council Monday night voted to: 1) spend $15,000 on a storage canopy for the police department’s new crime van, and 2) add $7,000 to the $35,000 previously approved for the purchase of two new vans for the city’s Meals on Wheels program. Neither of the expenditures will come out of the general fund or affect city taxes.
Crime Van Storage Canopy
City Councilor George McGoldrick explained that the canvas canopy is needed because the crime van is too tall to fit in any storage facility near the police department. The canopy, which comes with a 10-year warranty, will allow the van to be stored nearby on Hanover Street. The $15,000 includes a gate, site work and a service contract, McGoldrick said.
“The committee felt this was a cost-effective way to deal with the vehicle,” he said.
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Two New Meals-on-Wheels Vans
McGoldrick also informed the council that the original estimate of $35,000 for the purchase of two new vans for Meals on Wheels was too low. The actual cost will be $42,000, so the council needed to approve transfer of an additional $7,000 into the city’s capital equipment account.
The vans will replace two aging vehicles in the program’s current fleet of five vans—a 1997 Dodge Caravan and a 1999 Chevy Venture. One of the vehicles has a bad transmission and the other is severely rusted.
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“The city garage that does their repairs recommends that they be replaced, as well,” McGoldrick added.
Meals on Wheels serves about 100 meals a day or 45,000 meals a year to homebound people in the city, McGoldrick said.
Before a vote was taken, Councilman John Thorpe proposed an alternate resolution to have the city purchase just one van now and study the feasibility of acquiring a second vehicle in the future. He pointed to a recent decline in the number of meals served by Meals on Wheels. That decline is a result of some meal delivery being shifted from Meal on Wheels to independent contractors.
“I don’t see why we can’t buy one vehicle now and wait six months to see if we need another one,” Thorpe said.
The city’s legal counsel ruled that the resolution was out of order because approval had already been given for purchase of two vans. In the end, a vote was taken and the resolution to spend an additional $7,000 was passed, with three nay votes.
