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Village approves purchase of used patrol motorcycle funded by salvage and donations
Summary
The Big Bend village board approved using salvage vehicle fees and donations to buy a used 2023 patrol motorcycle and its mounted equipment, with officials emphasizing the purchase will not use tax dollars and will aid traffic enforcement during upcoming multi-year road work.
Sergeant Nate presented a plan to acquire a late-model 2023 patrol motorcycle, including already-installed emergency equipment, using the department's salvage vehicle fund and private donations. "This is actually a solution to a problem," Nate said, describing heavy local traffic and the need for a mobile enforcement tool during construction and large events.
Nate told the board the salvage vehicle fund balance is about $11,355 and that revenue from returned salvage-vehicle inspection activity should rebuild the fund soon. He said the bike, offered by Vandervest (advertised through a Harley-Davidson dealer) for about $14,900 and equipment from the Green Bay Police Department for just over $1,000, would be cheaper than a new unit and could be put into service quickly. "It will be at 0 expense to the taxpayer," Nate said, describing plans to use donations and National Night Out proceeds for accessories.
Board members asked questions about publicity and community perception; one member recommended publicizing that the purchase was paid for without tax dollars. Nate said the department will track and report statistics for the unit'how often it is deployed, citations issued and crash response'so the board can evaluate its effectiveness.
The board made a motion and second to approve "the usage of salvage vehicle funds and the donation from National Auto to purchase the police motorcycle vehicle for the Village of Big Bend Police Department." The motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records an "Aye" and "Motion carries," with no roll-call tally provided.
The next steps described by staff: finalize negotiation with the vendor, document funding sources and publish usage statistics after deployment. The purchase was approved as presented; the motion did not identify a numeric vote tally in the record.
