Elma council unanimously approved at a meeting May 15 the final steps to acquire new police vehicles for the city’s police department.
The council gave Police Chief Susan Shultz unanimous approval for her request for new vehicles at a meeting April 17, but questions over how to obtain the vehicles in the most fiscally-responsible way delayed the purchases until a comprehensive plan could be developed, and that plan was green lit May 15.
The council opted to pursue a 3 year, or 36-month, lease for the three vehicles as was recommended by the finance committee. Adding another year to the lease could have meant potential financial problems for the city if the police levy, which will be on August’s ballot, does not pass.
The three vehicles in need of replacement have required $10,000 to $12,000 of maintenance within the last three years just to stay operational. The council decided that leasing vehicles was the best option, as buying new vehicles would take more time and would mean the police department would have to go on using the old vehicles until they could all be replaced some years in the future.
The city of Elma will make use of an $84,000 pass-through grant, the grant offer received May 8, courtesy of the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) to replace its streetlights with LED lights. The TIB has a grant program called Relight Washington, according to public works director Jim Starks, that works to upgrade city owned street lights to LED fixtures in the interest of energy savings.
A pass-through grant is when the funds received from a grantor are put to use by a third party. In this case, Elma will receive the grant, while Grays Harbor Public Works Department PUD utilize it. Starks said in an email that while GHPUD will provide the fixture and manpower in upgrading the lighting, the city also “will use the work of a private electrical contractor for the work.”
Starks said that the PUD has yet to supply a work schedule, but he expects that the work will take several months.
The council unanimously approved multiple requests for funding from the chamber of commerce for upcoming events. The city-wide garage sale, the Heat on the Street Car Show and the Travelers 2017 Visitor’s Guide all received funding from council. The chamber requested additional funds for the visitor’s guide so that an entire page could be dedicated to Elma.
The council discussed developing a city logo, and went over several drafts provided by Elma High School students. A final decision on a logo was not made.
Noting that a logo may be the first thing seen when entering Elma, mayor Jim Sorensen noted his approval for the project.
“I feel a logo is pretty important,” he said.
