HANCEVILLE — Federal funds are helping bolster Hanceville’s policing capabilities at crowded public events, thanks to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant that will soon equip the city’s police department with new mobile communications gear.

At its regular meeting this week, the Hanceville City Council awarded a $67,801 bid to obtain the equipment to Decatur Communications, which submitted the lowest entry to the city among three overall bidders. The city will pay the cost of the radio-based equipment up front, with DHS to reimburse the funds afterward via the grant.

The bidding process for the gear comes two weeks after the council moved to accept a separate but related portion of the DHS funds, having previously awarded a $56,225 bid at its April 13 meeting to Landmark Dodge of Georgia. Those funds will pay for a 2023 Dodge Ram ProMaster van; a vehicle that will serve as the department’s new mobile command center.

In other business at its regular meeting, the council:

• Rejected and again solicited bids for roof repair work at the Hanceville Public Library, adding new language to the bid specifying that 26 ga. metal roofing panels should be used in the forthcoming repairs. The library remains open to patrons as it awaits roof repairs for damage sustained during an early March wind storm.
• Tabled action on an $18,900 bid for exterior bricking of a new addition at the city jail, pending communication with bidder Applied Masonry to clarify terms of its offer.
• Adopted an ordinance that replaces the city’s previous ordinance prescribing building and fire safety codes, a move that reflects 2018 updates issued by the International Code Council (ICC) that supersede older language used in the previous ordinance, which references the ICC’s 2006 safety code.
• Approved a $30,675 audit payment to the Municipal Workers Compensation Fund.
• Approved a $14,900 payment for a bridge inspection, with the funds to be paid out of the city’s allocation of Rebuild Alabama tax funds.
• Authorized repairs to the city fire department’s ladder truck at an estimated cost of $10,000.
• Agreed to extend a current equity line of credit through Merchants Bank for an additional two years at a rate of 5.75 percent interest.
• Approved the surplus of a city-owned Kubota tractor for sale at online auction.

Approved a one-time school donation of $100 to the Hanceville cheerleading team.

The council’s next regular meeting will be held Thursday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the council meeting room at Hanceville City Hall. A 5 p.m. public work session will precede the meeting at the same location.