Junction City council approves purchase of two police interceptors and outfitting

The Junction City Council on June 25 authorized the purchase of two pursuit‑rated police interceptors and related outfitting and equipment for a total of $149,656.97, with a 10% contingency, and authorized Chief Waddell to sign the necessary contracts.

Chief Waddell told councilors the cars are available through the state contract at Gresham Ford and are pursuit‑rated from the factory. “They offered to hold those for us,” he said, describing a four‑model police interceptor and explaining the long wait times for new patrol vehicles. Waddell also presented quotes for upfitting (lights, wiring) and options for radios, noting Motorola and Kenwood alternatives, and discussed consolidating in‑car and body‑worn video systems to reduce the department’s need to pull evidence from multiple vendor platforms.

A city staff member identified as Jason told the council that $180,000 had been set aside for the purchase in the current budget and that the bids came in substantially below that amount. Councilor Leach moved to approve the purchase; Councilor Hancock seconded. A friendly amendment authorized Chief Waddell to sign contracts and related documents on behalf of the city.

The motion passed unanimously. The council approved the purchase with a 10% contingency and directed staff to proceed with contracting and outfitting the vehicles.

Vendors and technology mentioned during the discussion included Gresham Ford (vehicle procurement), Wireworks (upfitting), Motorola and Kenwood (radio vendors), Axon (body‑worn camera provider), Digital Ally and WatchGuard (in‑car video vendors). Officials said the long lead times for new factory vehicles made the state‑contract option attractive.