St. Jacob, Alhambra get cars from county for $1

Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler delivered a decommissioned police cruiser on Friday, Sept. 8 to St. Jacob and another sheriff’s department car to Alhambra earlier this month as part of a program initiated by the County Board to sell surplus vehicles.

The villages purchased the cars for $1 each.

County Board member David Michael, District 4, joined Prenzler in delivering the vehicle to Police Chief Steve Howe and Mayor Richard Schiefer.

“I’m happy to help,” Michael said. “Smaller communities don’t often have the funding to purchase new vehicles. It’s a savings to taxpayers.”

Howe said he’s planning on using the car as the “chief’s vehicle.”

“It’s ready to roll,” Howe said. “All we have to do is put in a radio and a mount for a computer.”

Prenzler said the county makes the vehicles available to governmental entities after being taken out of service due to high mileage or age. The navy blue 2011 Ford Crown Victoria that went to St. Jacob was retired with 107,000 miles.

The county initiated the program more than 12 years ago for municipalities and emergency service departments.

Scheifer said this was the second vehicle the village has received since the program started. He said he appreciates the assistance from the Madison County Board.

Michael said he attended an earlier St. Jacob Village Board and told them about the vehicle.

“They were happy it,” he said.

Howe said a new police vehicle can cost as much as $35,000 to $40,000, and by using the county car as the chief’s vehicle, it saves the village money.

Prenzler and Michael also delivered the vehicle to Alhambra, which will likely be used by village employees who do meter readings or inspections.

“We are thankful for this,” said John Mindrup, Alhambra public works superintendent. “We plan on using it at Village Hall to prevent wear and tear on the other vehicles. It will help us get the most life out of the village’s vehicles.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 8:01 AM with the headline "St. Jacob, Alhambra get cars from county for $1."