The Truesdale Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of ballistic helmets and plate carriers with hard and soft plates.

Truesdale Police Chief Casey Doyle said that one of his goals for the department has been to upfit each of his full-time staff with such equipment. He said generally the equipment is expensive and that officers often have to purchase the equipment themselves with their own money.

Doyle said he found some equipment that had originally been created for the San Diego Police Department, but they didn’t like the color, which is a green color. He said for equipment valued at over $10,000, the cost to the Truesdale department would be only $4,473.

Doyle said the plates and plate carrier are an extra layer of protection that an officer can have.

Alderman Mike Thomas asked Doyle whether the equipment would stay with the department in case an officer leaves. Doyle responded that the plate carrying vests are typically fitted to the size of the officer. So similar sized officers could possibly wear the vests.

After some further discussion the board unanimously approved the purchase of the equipment by a 4-0 vote.

During the meeting, the board also completed the first and second readings of an ordinance authorizing the mayor or city manager of the city to enter into a contract with the Missouri Department of Transportation where the city will receive grant funding for the police department to conduct work zone enforcement along the I-70 corridor. The contract is for a five-year period with the option to renew for up to two years.

During the mayor comment portion of the meeting, Mayor Jerry Cannon told the board that over the next week city staff will be giving out certificates to different community residents as part of the city’s Good Neighbor Acknowledgement. He said the goal would be to have those individuals come to the board’s Oct. 8 meeting to publicly recognize them.

Cannon also gave updates on two meetings, one a trip to Altoona, Iowa to visit a Meta data center and last Friday’s meeting with MoDOT officials regarding recent accidents along the I-70 corridor.

Cannon also told the aldermen the city has received a bid from Green Gardens LLC in the amount of $1,046 to do some landscaping around city hall that will include 17 bushes and a yard of decorative rock.