Vienna City Council approves request for police SUVs, trailer
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VIENNA -- Vienna City Council voted Thursday to solicit bids for two new or used unmarked SUVs and purchase a single-axle trailer valued at $4,550 for the Police Department using opioid settlement funds.
Mayor Randy Rapp said the SUVs and trailer are within the categories designated for opioid spending. He invited Police Chief Mike Pifer to come to the podium and explain why he submitted the request.
Pifer started out by saying he understands the opioid epidemic is a multifaceted issue.
"Prevention is a big part of this. I was a DARE officer for years. There's some prevention measures in place right now. Is there more we can do? There's always more than we can do," he said.
Pifer said he is close to hiring a civilian investigator to the team and the unmarked SUV and trailer would be useful in their job.
"With this trailer, these investigators can haul stuff that they can do for investigations, whether it's an outside crime scene, it can be lighting, generators and all kinds of stuff," he said. "I wouldn't ask for it if we didn't need it."
Pifer also showed a picture of the police dog that the council had previously voted to use opioid funds to purchase. The dog's name is Tyson, and he will be available for training in May.
The SUVs can be either new or used. If they are used, they need to be 2020 model or newer with less than 40,000 miles.
The trailer comes with two stabilizer jacks, is valued at $4,550 and will be purchased from Mountaineer Trailer Sales of Vienna.
Earlier Thursday, Rapp said that in light of this week's announcement that the EPA had finalized new limits on so-called "forever chemicals" in drinking water, he wanted to remind people that the city has had active carbon filtration systems for years.
They were installed and financed by Chemours after the EPA released new lifetime health advisory levels for C8 exposure in 2016. Vienna's water had tested below the short-term limit but above the new one.
Rapp noted that C8 and related perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are at non-detectable levels in the city's treated water as a result, so Vienna won't have to make any changes to comply with the latest standards.
"The water's as good as it can be," he said.
City Editor Evan Bevins contributed to this story.
Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com