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The Stanfield Town Council recently approved the purchase of a new vehicle for the police department.

The department has had multiple problems over the years with the 2014 Dodge Charger. Commissioner Brent Holbrooks, who reports to the council on the police, said since August of last year, the town has spent $4,000 on the vehicle, which has already logged more than 95,000 miles.

“It’s had multiple problems over its life,” Holbrooks said about the Charger.

He recommended a new vehicle was needed for the department, which has five full-time officers. Holbrooks said due to COVID-19, it was not a good idea to have two officers share the same vehicle, which would also greatly increase its mileage.

After some back and forth, the council approved the purchase of a 2020 Ford Police Explorer, which would cost about $42,600. With the addition of various police equipment (lights, siren, cage) that would need to be uplifted, the total cost comes to about $53,600.

The town will purchase the car from Dana Safety Supply. The department’s last two vehicles were purchased there. It will take between three to five months before the new vehicle arrives.

Many years ago, the town decided to try and sequence replacing vehicles about every 18 months, but that has not always happened for a variety of reasons, including accidents, Mayor Kevin Barbee said. The town had purchased new vehicles for several consecutive years and 2021 was supposed to be an off year, he said.

Wanting to assess the conditions of the other vehicles in the fleet, Commissioner James Kluttz asked for the council to see the makes and models of each during next month’s meeting.