Police cars, sewer and data retrieval monies approved by Palmer council

PALMER -- The Palmer City Council were weary after a three-hour meeting Tuesday, but a long agenda was successfully cleared out.

The meeting didn't run long because of any controversy, the council simply had a full plate. About two dozen separate items were on the agenda, and several spending items were approved.

The council approved bids for two police cars and a sewage lagoon dredge. The police cars cost $22,119 per vehicle and will come from Nye Frontier Ford as part of a joint purchase with the Alaska State Troopers. The city budgeted $51,318, so they are about $7,000 under budget so far. City Manager Tom Healy said the city will likely spend the excess to ready the cars for patrol. Palmer Police Chief Russ Boatright was not present to give more details.

The cost of the sewage lagoon dredge is $93,000 and should extend the life of the sewage lagoons. Public Works Director Rick Koch said he was just as excited about the lagoon dredge as he is about much larger sewer system projects that are on the horizon. He said council members can get a show-and-tell of the remote-control dredge when the manufacturer's representative visits this spring.

"It's not a very sexy deal, but I'm excited about it," Koch said. "This is the first line of defense for maximizing those lagoons."

The council also approved funding for a grant to Mat-Su Agency Partnership of $6,500 for a survey of social-service needs in the Valley. Mat-Su Agency Partnership representatives said the area is "data-poor" when it comes to social services. Better data, they said, will help various agencies secure grant funding. The $6,500 was a donation amount suggested by the partnership, which is also approaching other groups for funding.

Council member John Combs said the survey should be helpful, "not only for this body, but for various professional organizations and social-service agencies."

The grant passed 5-2, with council members Diana Long and Kathrine Vanover voting against it.

A grant for $15,000 in police funding was tabled. The grant is designated for overtime wages and comes form the Alaska Department of Public Safety in order to promote seat belt enforcement.

In another area, the council pursued funding by authorizing Healy to request a $3 million grant from the federal government for airport improvements.

The council also authorized a bid opening for new carts for the Palmer golf course. The invitation for bid calls for 40 to 60 carts and estimates the price to be between $1.5 and $3 million.