~Miner Board of Aldermen
MINER -- The Sikeston Rural Fire Protection District's new fire truck should result in lower home insurance for Miner residents, according to the city's fire chief.
The Miner Board of Aldermen approved an agreement with the Sikeston Rural Fire Protection District during their regular monthly meeting Wednesday.
Under the agreement, the district will purchase a used 2,700 gallon fire truck for $27,000. Miner will help by paying $3,000 to have the truck shipped here by tractor-trailer from Oregon and then operating the truck with its fire fighters.
"The city of Miner will be responsible for housing it, insurance and maintenance," said Randy Allen, fire chief.
Insurance and maintenance will be reimbursed at the end of the year, however, Allen said.
Miner in turn will benefit by having an additional fire truck to use on fire calls, he said. "That's going to help us lower our ISO rating," Allen said.
Allen said he believes Miner's Insurances Services Office rating will improve from a 7 to a 5 after the next inspection.
ISO is the leading supplier of underwriting statistical information used by the insurance industry to set insurance rates.
In other business Wednesday:
* Board members approved several purchases for the police department including four TASERs at $850 each, a document scanner, a new computer, a digital camera for mug shots and a printer.
Sgt. Phillip Frazier, who is acting as chief while Chief Roger Moore is on medical leave, explained the additional TASERs will allow the department to have one for every officer.
With only the two the department has now, on days such as New Year's when four officers are on duty, the two senior officers are assigned the TASERs "and the other two are left without," he said.
Frazier said all of the department's officers are certified to use the stun devices.
Asked by board members about how safe TASERs are, Frazier said injuries or deaths related to TASERs reported by the media have not been from the devices themselves but have involved medical problems related to illegal drug use or "misuse of them -- people not using their heads when they use them."
Frazier said the new computer is needed because the department's computer is slowing down from being used for too many tasks. In addition to reducing the load on the existing computer, the new computer will be used to reduce paper records, he said.
Mayor Betty Barnes, mayor, said the TASERs and digital camera can be paid for from the DWI fund while the other purchases can come from the department's regular budget.
* City officials will look into getting a light for the corner of David Lane and Malone.
"You can hardly see the road," Barnes said.
Janet Tuttle, city clerk, said city officials had previously talked to AmerenUE about installing a light there. "They wanted a ton of money to do it," she said.
Tuttle said as that price was probably based on installing a pole and there is already a pole there, perhaps a light could be installed for less.
Barnes said she would like to see a reflector put up in the meantime to assist motorists.