Newland council reviews sale of surplus police shotguns and debates price for old service pistols

The Newland Town Council reviewed a resolution to authorize the sale of five surplus Mossberg 12‑gauge shotguns to Limbo Land Harbor and debated pricing and procedures for selling older service handguns.

Town manager (speaker 3) presented the shotgun resolution, saying the proposed price was $7,000 for the lot of five and that the paperwork brought to the meeting made the sale official. "You have a in front of you a resolution that ... the police department has ... been contacted by Limbo Land Harbor, and they want to buy the 5 Mossberg 12 gauge shotguns," the town manager said.

The council also discussed a related resolution covering five retired Glock 23 Gen 3 .40‑caliber pistols. The town manager said the plan was to offer the guns to officers who previously carried them, and initially cited a $100 per‑gun price for each of the five firearms. Police chief (speaker 4) and council members noted that retail or trade‑in values could be higher. Council discussion emphasized the tradition of favoring officers in these sales: Gerald McKinney, town attorney (speaker 1), said, "traditionally speaking, this has always been a dollar a piece." Police staff noted the weapons were about a decade old and had been replaced.

When pricing was questioned, the town manager asked staff to amend the drafted resolution: "Can you just, line through the $100 each and put $1 each, please?" That request was made on the record, and staff said they would provide the supporting paperwork.

Council members also raised procurement rules: the town attorney cautioned that direct sales to officers can require a bid process in some circumstances. The transcript records the discussion and the requested change in the resolution text; it does not record a roll‑call tally or an explicit final vote on the sale resolutions.

The meeting moved on to the finance report and other business after the discussion.