Scotch Plains Council Approves Purchase of New Police Vehicles

The Scotch Plains Township Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night to purchase two 2010 Dodge Charger marked police vehicles.

The purchase will be through the Cranford Police Cooperative Pricing System, which Councilman Jeffery Strauss said greatly reduced the cost of the vehicles. 

The funds for the purchase are already allocated in the town's budget, according to Mayor Nancy Malool. The cost of the two vehicles is $42, 392.

According to Mayor Malool, neither of the two new cars technically replaces a car that was destroyed in an accident in February. The insurance settlement on that car was used to fund the remainder of the salary of a police officer who would have had to be laid off otherwise.

Also during the meeting, Town Manager Christopher Marion announced that the Department of Public Works' second round of leaf collection began this week.

Marion said the township has experienced delays in the collection due to staff and budgetary constraints. The next round of collection should take approximately 21 workdays for completion.

"We've received complaints," Marion said. "We're aware of those and we're working to finish as soon as possible."

He also announced that the Department of Transportation is planning to hold a pre-construction public information meeting regarding the Route 22 Park Avenue/Bonnie Burn Road Project on Thursday, Dec. 10, between 4 and 7 p.m. at the municipal building.