Local merchant will supply city's newest vehicle
By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

Delphi residents will soon be seeing a new police car cruising the streets patrolling for bad guys. It will stand out. It will be different. It will be black and white. And it will be purchased locally.

Chief Justin Darling received permission from the Delphi Board of Works at the Monday afternoon meeting to purchase a six-cylinder Chevrolet Impala from Dick Krieg Motors for a base price of $20,014. Darling said $22,000 was in the 2008 budget. He said a 2007 eightcylinder Ford Crown Victoria was slated for purchase from Bloomington Ford for $21,591 last year, however the purchase never happened.

"Keeping it (the business) in town is a great move," board member Brian Garrison said.

Other business

Mayor Randy Strasser gained approval for two water department employees to attend a two-day training session. The training will result in certifications from the Indiana Chapter of the American Water Works Association for both.

A new water meter will be purchased for $1,600 in expectation of a major repair event on well #5. The new meter, which will service another well, will provide an accurate reading of the number of gallons of water pumped into the system.

The city will purchase software and support to interact with the county GIS system for $4,750. Strasser said the purchase was necessary to map the city's water and wastewater lines and attributes for inventory. He said the mapping could be modified as improvements are made to the systems and would be useful with preventative maintenance applications.

Claims for $227,837.61 were approved, but not without questions. Board member Bob Conner asked about claims for approximately $2,000 from the airport. He asked about the city's involvement with paying bills for the airport. It was explained that money generated at the airport was deposited into the general fund. Invoices for the airport are then paid out of the general fund through airport budget appropriated line items.

The next meeting will be Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the city council meeting at 7 p.m.