The City Council held its monthly voting session Monday night at City Hall.
P-J photo by Timothy Frudd
The City Council addressed the issue of rising crime Monday by approving the purchase of an armored SWAT vehicle that will be used by the Jamestown Police Department.
The council unanimously approved the proposal Monday, just one week after Police Chief Timothy Jackson’s and the SWAT team’s presentation. The proposal allocated $247,516 in American Rescue Plan Act Lost Revenue funds for a new SWAT vehicle.
Under the last administration, the City Council had previously considered the proposal to purchase an armored SWAT vehicle, but had failed to do so due to a lack of funding.
City Council President Anthony Dolce, R-Ward II, explained the idea for the BearCat SWAT vehicle was brought up again during the city’s public safety forum in September.
“We had the public safety forum a month ago or so, and the idea came up of getting an armed piece of equipment,” Dolce said. “With the number of raids that the SWAT team does with drugs and the number of weapons that they’re seizing off the streets, they’ve been going to these calls with normal vehicles.”
The City Council allocated more American Rescue Plan Act funding for public safety Monday, approving the purchase of a BearCat for the Jamestown Police Department.
P-J photo by Timothy Frudd
Dolce said the unprotected SWAT team vehicle presents a danger for both the officers risking their lives and the community in the event of an emergency situation. He believes the addition of an armored SWAT vehicle will improve not only the safety of the officers, but also the entire community.
“This also gives the police department the ability, God forbid if we did have a major shooting, where they can actually rescue people and take them out of a situation in a much safer environment to get them out of there,” Dolce said.
During the City Council’s last work session, members of the Jamestown SWAT team highlighted the potential dangers presented by using the current Chevy vans for SWAT raids and rescue missions. Unlike the current vehicles used by the SWAT team, the BearCat vehicle offers enhanced protection for the officers and provides the SWAT team with the ability to get closer to dangerous situations while mitigating potential risks.
“That vehicle can go through things and get a lot closer and certainly make it much safer, not only for themselves, but for residents as well as victims in any situation like that,” Dolce said.
Councilman William Reynolds, R-Ward V reminded the City Council members and the public that Jackson estimated about a year before the vehicle could be delivered to the city after the purchase of the BearCat.
“It’s going to be about a year before we can see this thing come to fruition,” Reynolds said.
While Dolce acknowledged the high cost of the BearCat vehicle, he stressed the importance of purchasing the vehicle to address public safety concerns in the community.
“With the number of SWAT calls and drug calls and drug busts and guns being taken off the street and shootings, it’s the next extension of safety, not only for our department police officers, but also for our residents as well,” he said.
In other news, the City Council approved $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act Healthy Communities and Neighborhood funding for the Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive program. The additional funds, brings the total $1 million for the popular program.
The city received $1.5 million in application requests, which has prompted the City Council to consider different ways of allocating additional funds for the applicants. Dolce said he anticipates that the council will approve an additional $500,000 at the next voting session to fully cover the requested amount for the program.
