Adrian Council quells PD rumors

A larger than normal crowd spilled into the hallway as concerned citizens attended tonight's Adrian city council meeting. Mayor Ritter opened the meeting with the usual business, but quickly turned to the alleged matter regarding the Bates County Sheriff's Department taking over the Adrian Police Department. The Mayor asked how many in attendance were present due to concerns regarding this and most everyone raised their hand.

Mayor Ritter went on to say that the Adrian police officers would get to speak first on the matter, then Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson, followed by the Mayor and council. After that, the attendee's would be granted time for questions and comments "if you still have questions" said Ritter.

Officer Vic Selle made a short statement that the changes were "just a consideration". Officer Don Sellers added that "the information I received was true to my knowledge". At this time Sheriff Chad Anderson took the floor, thanking everyone for a large turnout, as it showed good spirit and concern for the police department in Adrian. "The first I heard of this 'takeover' was when some citizens approached me a short time ago at a convenience store saying 'we heard that you (Bates County Sheriff's Department) are going to take over the Adrian Police Department'." Sheriff Anderson went on to say the subject was brought up again while in a conversation with former Adrian Police Chief Rick DeBruin.

Shortly after, Sheriff Anderson made contact with a member of the council and offered to make a proposal in case the city was actually considering such a move. "The proposal was for $160,000 a year with a couple of requirements. First, the present Adrian police officers would become employees of the Sheriff's department, and second, we would provide 24 hour coverage with an officer within the city limits at all times". Sheriff Anderson pointed out again that the proposal was only an option in case the city was actually looking for an alternative.

Mayor Ritter emphasized that no discussion of this matter had taken place within the city council prior to tonight's meeting with the public. The Mayor also expressed concerns that if the city were to sign a contract with the County, he felt that many things would need to be worked out. He finished by saying that he felt the city would lose control of the police department and wasn't sure about finances in the case that the Sheriff's Department would need to raise the contracted amount for some unforeseen reason.

Sheriff Anderson spoken again saying regardless of any decision made by the Adrian city counsel, the Bates County sheriff's department is always here to help- "We'll be here today, as we were yesterday and will be tomorrow". His comment was followed by lively applause from the gallery.

The Mayor did point out earlier that street repair and maintenance "cost the city about $70,000 per year, but the amount really needs to be closer to $120,000 to properly do it". With a tight economy, the city will gladly entertain any ideas on how to save money, he said.

"We want to emphasize again, this was simply a consideration, there was no formal discussion of it, and that's it" said Ritter.

********

As the meeting progressed, there was a brief discussion regarding pro's and con's of using the Bates County sheriff's department to dispatch the police, which Sheriff Anderson pointed out that Bates County was one of only 14 counties in the state without a county-wide 911 dispatch system in place. "It would save lots of valuable time now lost as calls are transferred through various departments" said Anderson "If the calls went straight to the county, all units can respond much sooner".

The conversation then went to the annexation of Highway 71 east of Adrian. Many voiced their views whether or not this would be a viable option for the City. Attorney Roger Irvin stated that he has represented many drivers who were ticketed on 71 Highway near Archie (as Archie police now write tickets on the interstate) and his view was that the tickets were 'a lot of bad publicity' and gives Archie a 'black eye' when motorists are cited in the Archie corridor.

The agenda of the meeting was then returned to normal business; Bates County Live will publish any upcoming news regarding county wide dispatch, annexation of 71 Highway and other city news as it becomes available.