City police have a busy month
Retired Assistant Police Chief Michael Taylor being presented a certificate of outstanding service by Chief Delaney Wilson at the retirement reception. PJ Martin/The Herald-News
By PJ Martin
Office/News Reporter, Metcalfe Division
At the March 4th meeting, the Edmonton Police Chief Delaney Wilson reported on a more active month in February despite it being a shorter month. Wilson announced that Colby Romines was hired into the city’s police force on February 26 and that Assistant Police Chief Michael Taylor retired on February 28. The new Assistant Police Chief is Mike Hampton.
Wilson presented the activity report for the month of February as the following. The city police officers patrolled 6,003 miles, conducted 53 traffic stops, answered 56 complaints, made 15 arrests, wrote 52 citations, had 3 animal complaints, served 12 warrants, worked 3 domestics, worked 15 non-injury accidents, started 10 new investigations, had 2 incomplete 911 calls, had 3 fights, served 2 summons, 1 DUI, and 4 drug complaints.
Council member Teresa Hamlett asked Wilson, “The burglaries that’s going on, is there any leads or anything?”
“We’re working on some stuff,” answered Wilson noting that the information couldn’t be released at this point in the investigation.
Following Wilson’s report, Council member Cathy Nunn requested an executive session to discuss a personnel matter. The session lasted approximately 7 minutes and no actions were taken.
Upon return from executive session, the ABC Report was presented by Alcohol Beverage Control Administrator Freddie Ray, “As far as I know, everything is in compliance with everybody.”
Water, Sewer, and Gas Dept.
Public Works Superintendent Moe Hensley stated that a Ford F150 truck has been purchased through the state bid system for the street department, which was in last year’s budget. He also presented a list of the items repaired and maintained by the water, sewer, and gas department in February.
At the January meeting, the city council authorized Mayor Doug Smith to negotiate the city’s engineering contract for water projects. The next stage is to request qualifications (RFQ) from engineering firms which the council approved.
Parks and Recreation Dept.
Clerk Dawn Devore presented Parks Director Page Edward’s report in her absence reporting that the baseball and softball sign-ups are in progress and that the City Hall office of Parks and Recreation is in the process of packing up to relocate to the park offices which are currently being painted.
Fire Dept.
Fire Chief Jerry Clemmons advised that the Edmonton Fire Department made a total of 13 runs in February. They consisted of 5 lift assists, 1 test run, 4 medical runs, 1 false alarm, and 2 non-injury accidents.
Clemmons also presented a detailed listing of repairs for the Edmonton-Metcalfe County firehouse. This is an ongoing issue and Council member Austin Bragg asked that the item be tabled until the next meeting to allow council members time to examine the listing more closely.
Other Business
Mark Linkous representing Tri-County Electric was originally scheduled to attend but may be rescheduled to a later meeting.
