ON THE AGENDA Here are some of...

ON THE AGENDA

Here are some of the issues the City Council will consider at its

meeting tonight.

POLICE EQUIPMENT

The council will consider whether to spend $56,707 to buy digital

voice recorders for officers in the field. Most of the money,

$51,036, would come from a Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. The

remaining $5,671 would come from the Citizens Option for Public

Safety funds.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Police believe that the new equipment could be a powerful tool for

better policing and are hopeful that the council will approve the

purchase. The recorders will be used to document conversations

between police officers and citizens, thereby helping prevent

unfounded lawsuits. The recorded conversations would be kept on file

in digital format.

ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER

City Manager Allan Roeder could soon have some backup. The council

will consider whether to create a new position of assistant city

manager and to adjust the budget to set aside $90,433 for that

person’s salary.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Though times are tough all over, city staff may have found a way

to lessen the financial effect of the new hire on the general fund

with better financing of its contributions to the Public Employees

Retirement System. This offsetting of costs could go a long way

toward selling the council and the public on hiring a new person.

TEWINKLE UPGRADES

A laundry list of possible upgrades to TeWinkle Park’s lakes will

be narrowed down a bit tonight. Taking a cue from their recent study

session, the council will endorse some of the ideas for lake

improvements and nix some others.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Some of the most popular ideas are installing a pier that could be

used for launching model boats, improving landscaping and irrigation

around the lakes, and installing new walkways and trash cans. Some of

the ideas likely to hit the cutting room floor are putting in a

community gathering area with restrooms and widening the lower lake

by removing the two fingers of land that extend into it. If all the

favored items from the study session make the final cut, it will

probably cost just under $500,000 for the initial work plus the costs

of yearly maintenance.

-- Compiled by

June Casagrande