By Mike Robertson
Winston County Journal
According to Mayor Will Hill, the City of Louisville is taking advantage of federal recovery funds to finance a number of projects including the purchase of new equipment. Hill stated that under Project Worksheet 104, Destroyed Plywood Plant, at an assessed loss of $57M, funds have been available to rebuild the plant and complete the other projects. The equipment purchases amount to $700K dollars, costing the City only $90K.
The purchases include a new fire engine, five new police cars, four utility pickup trucks, 30 new communications radios, equipment to help maintain Louisville Rail Park, and a new tractor and mower.
Hill said that the City was going to have to purchase a new fire engine regardless, as one of the engines is no longer compliant due to age. According to Louisville Fire Chief Johnny Roy Haynes the last fire engine purchase was in 2010, and an engine purchased in 1996 is no longer compliant. Haynes stated that the purchase is necessary for the City to maintain its fire rating, thus preventing an increase in home-owners insurance for Louisville residents.
The engine, at a cost of $292K, has been ordered from Sunbelt Fire of Fairhope, AL. When asked when they expect to take delivery Haynes said, “It takes them about nine months to build it so it will probably be sometime in the fall.”
The police patrol cars were purchased locally from Crowson Auto, and according to Police Chief L.M. Claiborne they expect delivery of the fully-equipped vehicles within the next couple of weeks. Claiborne stated the department spends a lot of money to maintain some of the older vehicles that are worn out. He stated that there will be a big savings on maintenance costs alone. The cars that will be replaced are 2003 and 2008 models.
Hill said, “It is worthy to note that we have taken on more and more property responsibility, to include on the by-pass.” Hill stated that he has communicated with MDOT and the City will be taking over the maintenance from where the lights start on the south end to where they end on the north end. He added that the by-pass is the front door to Louisville, and it needs to be clipped more than twice a year, thus the need for the purchase of the new tractor and mower.
