Orange Council approves police cars purchase

David Ball - For The Record

Some Orange police officers will be sporting new rides.

The Orange City Council approved a resolution to purchase five Chevrolet Tahoes through Houston-Galveston Area Council for $174,825 and the approval to purchase equipment through Silsbee Fleet Group for $28,589. The agenda item was approved at the regular meeting of the city council on the evening of October 27.

Police chief Lane Martin five vehicles from the fleet have more than 100,000 miles on them. The old vehicles will be placed on the Renee Bates Auction for sale to the highest bidder.

As a government entity, the city receives larger discounts than businesses through fleet purchases or the public through negotiation.

Also approved was a resolution authorizing the city's participation in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block grant award of $309,582.

The city submitted a grant allocation request with its Five Year Consolidate Plan and First Year Annual Plan on August 13, 2015. The review of the Year 2 Annual Action Plan has been completed and approved by HUD.

This grant is for administration, social services, and demolition of substandard structures.

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A resolution was approved to accept a grant for $10,000 from the Nelda c. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation for the Orange Fire Department.

The grant is for the purchase of a portable fire extinguisher training system for OFD. Similar grants from the Foundation in past years have used for the purchase of computer equipment and fire prevention training aids.

This money would purchase the Bullex Intelligent Training System, an environmentally friendly portable fire extinguisher training system.

Chief David Frenzel wrote in a memorandum the procurement of this tool will not only make this valuable training available to the adult groups within the community, but will allow the department to utilize this training aid with their commercial and industrial partners wit which they hod industrial district contracts.

Assistant Chief Lee Ann Brown said prior to this, the OFD had to borrow a fire extinguisher system from the Lamar Institute of Technology.

Lastly, Hughie Allen and Laura Floyd were voted on by the city council to be re-elected to Orange County Appraisal District Board of Directors. Both are Orange residents.