Select Board approves Office of Highway Safety grant amendment for radar signs and e-ticket printers

Tamworth’s police chief told the Select Board on Jan. 2 that the department had received a grant (Office of Highway Safety grant number 25-181) that funded radar signs and a traffic-counting device and that an amendment to the award will allow the department to purchase e-ticket printers for cruisers.

“We’ve already put into use the new radar sign… We also have a traffic counting device,” the chief said, and described testing that recorded roughly 10,900 vehicle passages over a five-day span and an average speed reading in the low 30-mph range. He said the state is encouraging departments to adopt e-ticketing and is offering equipment funding; the amendment covers the printers so the department can make the purchase and be reimbursed.

The chief provided the grant number and said the amendment requires a signature from the board chair or vice chair. At the meeting a motion was made to accept the Office of Highway Safety grant amendment to grant number 25-181, in the amount recorded in the minutes as $3,315. The select board approved the motion by roll call vote.

The chief also said he plans to pursue speed-enforcement grant funds later in the year and that the department is still fine-tuning the traffic-counting device and radar deployment.

The board’s approval authorizes the town to sign the grant amendment and to proceed with purchasing the equipment and seeking reimbursement under the grant.