SHELDON—The Sheldon Police Department will be getting a sixth vehicle, but it will not be the one it expected.
The department has waited a year to receive a Ford F-150 pickup, and chief Scott Burtch was told it is not on the build like yet. The truck was scheduled to be the department’s sixth vehicle.
But Burtch received some unexpected news about another vehicle he didn’t even order, and he now plans to have a Chevrolet Tahoe serve as Sgt. Eric Meinecke’s new K-9 unit. Burtch updated the Sheldon City Council about the vehicle change during its Aug. 2 meeting.
Burtch said the best-case scenario is the F-150 could have arrived by October but he was doubtful that would happen.
“The climate hasn’t gotten any better, it’s gotten worse,” he said.
A miscommunication led to Burtch finding out about the available Tahoe. He called Karl’s Chevrolet about a year ago to inquire about the availability of a Tahoe but never ordered one. However, the Ankeny car dealership called Burtch back recently and said a Tahoe was ordered and reserved for the department.
“We have a chance right now through a miscommunication with Karl’s Chevrolet to purchase a Tahoe,” he said. “I promise you I did not order it. None of my guys did. I think a couple of phone calls though inquiring about one they must have put us down for one.”
Burtch compared the prices for the two vehicles. An F-150 costs $43,000 while a Tahoe runs a little less at $41,000. He could have traded in a vehicle for $9,000 to knock the price down to $32,000, but $23,000 for equipment — minus $5,000 from a grant for a camera — pushes the cost for the truck to $52,000.
Getting the Tahoe means the department can trade in its 2020 Ford Explorer for the K-9 unit, which has 68,250 miles. The $13,000 from the trade-in drops the cost to $28,000. It would cost $15,000 to outfit the Tahoe for the K-9 unit needs, but Burtch can get a grant to cover all of the costs, making the Tahoe $24,000 cheaper than the F-150.
“It will be cheaper than we expected, we are just asking to move forward with it earlier than expected,” Burtch said.
Burtch said the Tahoe also will work better as a K-9 unit vehicle since it provides more room for the dog, Balin, and will keep him cooler.
It still will take about three months to get the Tahoe outfitted as a K-9 unit vehicle.
The department budgeted for two vehicles for the 2023-24 fiscal year at $104,000. The F-150 was supposed to be the first vehicle and another was going to be ordered in December.
Burtch asked for the Tahoe to serve as the first vehicle ordered. Then F-150 would stay on order and still become the department’s sixth vehicle. The plan was to purchase two F-150s for the 2023-24 year. With the Tahoe being cheaper than one of the F-150s, the cost to the department would be more than $20,000 below budget.
City manager Sam Kooiker said since the money is in the budget, the request does not need to be approved by the council so the department will be getting the Tahoe and will wait until December for the F-150.
Other items the council approved Aug. 2 included:
- Adopting the Emergency Operations Plan.
- Authorizing the Sheldon Community Services Center to serve as a shelter designation for the American Red Cross.
- An extension of water sales with Clay Rural Water System in South Dakota.
- The temporarily closure of part of Fourth Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets for 24 hours on Monday, Aug. 7, for roof repair to the H.C. Lane building at 324 Ninth St.
- Change order No. 2 for $2,780 and pay estimate No. 2 for $79,095.69 for water system improvements.
- Pay estimate No. 4 for the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System for $101,108.06.
- Pay estimate No. 2 for the Sheldon Crossing traffic signal for $376,554.05.
- Pay estimate No. 2 for street patching for $209,091.20.
- A state offset program memorandum of understanding.
- A usage agreement with Northwest Iowa Community College and the Northwest Iowa Lifelong Learning and Recreation Center in Sheldon.