Pepper Pike council approves replacement vehicle for detective, $39,031

The Pepper Pike City Council on Jan. 28 voted to authorize the police chief to buy a Honda CR‑V to replace a Ford Explorer used by a detective. The chief told council the CR‑V would be less noticeable during surveillance and that the department will rotate the outgoing vehicles into other uses.

The chief described the purchase as a modest vehicle refit, saying minimal upfitting is required — “just a radio, one small light,” and gave a price of $39,031, which he said was slightly under budget. Council moved and seconded the ordinance; a roll-call vote recorded unanimous yeses.

Why it matters: The council and police framed the buy as a routine fleet update intended to improve detective operations by using a less conspicuous vehicle for surveillance and investigative work.

Council action and next steps: The ordinance authorizing the purchase was moved and seconded and adopted by roll call. The department intends to rotate the outgoing Ford Explorer to other city uses and install a radio and a small emergency light on the new vehicle.

Costs and budget: The chief said the $39,031 price is slightly under the amount budgeted for the purchase. No additional funding requests were made during the meeting.

Provenance: Comments about the purchase and the price were made during the agenda item for the vehicle purchase and are recorded in the meeting transcript. The council adopted the ordinance by roll call vote.