The Stuttgart City Council voted to move forward with a truck purchase during its regular meeting held at city hall. All aldermen were present.
Mayor Norma Strabala proposed using $100,000 from the street department’s discretionary fund as a down payment on a new knuckleboom truck for limb and yard debris pickup. The total cost of the truck is $228,000, with a 5.03 percent interest rate. The down payment would reduce monthly payments from approximately $4,300 to $2,300 over five years.
The addition would provide the street department with another truck to aid in debris removal. Strabala said the down payment would allow the purchase to proceed without implementing the proposed $5 limb debris pickup charge on residential water bills.
When asked if the street department could afford the $2,300 monthly payment, Street Department Manager Tommy Lawson said the department could manage it, as it is currently paying for repairs on older knuckleboom trucks.
The council gave its approval for Strabala to pursue the purchase. However, Strabala noted that rising fuel and labor costs may lead the city to revisit the $5 yard debris pickup fee on residential water bills in the future.
Strabala expects the purchase to be finalized by the next council meeting. She added that the city has made progress in yard debris collection and once again outlined the pickup schedule:
- Mondays: Michigan Street and areas north
- Tuesdays: Michigan Street to Second Street
- Wednesdays: Second Street to 10th Street
- Thursdays: 10th Street to 19th Street
- Fridays: 19th Street to the edge of town
In other business, the council approved the Water and Sewer Audit for 2022 and 2023. Strabala said the audit contained no major findings. Copies are available for public review at city hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
The council also approved the minutes from the May 6 and May 12 meetings, accepted departmental reports, and approved payment of the bills before adjourning.
After the meeting, Strabala informed the council that 13th Street will be repaved soon. Work is scheduled to begin after the end of the school year to avoid interfering with school traffic.
April Department Reports
The Stuttgart Police Department Criminal Investigation Division reports in April that there were 13 felony cases broken down into 19 individual counts. Twelve interviews were conducted, and 19 cases are still under investigation.
The felony counts include two thefts, three thefts of a firearm, one theft of a vehicle, one theft of a debit or credit card, one hot check, three counts of battery in the second degree, one count of engaging in violent activity, one resisting arrest, one aggravated assault, one residential burglary, one count of breaking and entering, two counts of ID fraud, and one terrorsistic threatening.
Police seized 4.8 grams of powder/pills with a street value of $80. Four drug arrests were made, and three drug paraphernalia charges were issued.
The Stuttgart Fire Department reports six structure fires, one mobile property fire, and one gas leak.
The City of Stuttgart Office of Mosquito Control reports that activity in April remained low, but is expected to pick up with increasing temperatures and large pools of standing water. The department applied 130 pounds of larvicide.
