City Board of Aldermen meeting, December 1, 2015

During a relatively brief December 1st meeting, the Board of Aldermen bought a dog and a fire truck and heard a complaint about rundown property.

Residents of the 300 block of East Main Street complained about what they called the run down condition of two structures on the north side of the street. Bob Monroe and Karen Lilly, both of whom own and live in homes on that street, spoke to the city board and its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night.
Lilly and Monroe said the two buildings, one formerly a dental office and the other a single-family home, had not been well maintained, had broken windows, needed paint and other repairs. City attorney Regan Russell said the city’s options in such cases were limited, but that he would check into the matter to determine what, if anything, can be done.

Chief of Police Chris Robertson was authorized to purchase a new canine “officer” for the department. Cubo, the NAPD’s long time police dog, has developed hip problems, as do many large dogs as they approach ten years of age, and is no longer fit for duty. He will be “retired” after several years of valuable work, but kept for limited duty work and as a kind of mascot for work with school children and other community relations work.

Robertson has been authorized to obtain a new dog that is trained for multiple jobs. The animal will be paid for entirely from the money raised by seizing the assets of people convicted of drug violations. Two officers from the New Albany Police Department will travel to a nationally known kennel and training facility in Indiana during December to begin the process of selecting a new canine unit.

Fire Chief Steve Coker was authorized to purchase a new specialized pumper truck for use in rescue work. Coker was authorized to spend up to $345-thousand on the truck, to be bought on the State of Mississippi purchasing contract. The money for the new rescue pumper is already in the budget for the current fiscal year.