Grants funding essential to police

BELLE PLAINE — Belle Plaine Police Chief Chris Hudson isn’t optimistic about getting the Gary Sinise Foundation First Responder Grant in December, but he’s working other options to buy radar equipment for the police department’s two vehicles.

“I applied for the Benton County Community Foundation grant,” said Hudson. “I’ve seen success with that before.” Hudson used a previous grant from the Foundation to buy defibrillators for the patrol cars and for external vest carriers, he said.

This year Hudson asked the Benton County foundation for just over $14,000 for radar equipment and for solar-powered speed limit signs which tell drivers how fast they’re going as they approach the lighted, digital sign.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is giving Belle Plaine speed-limit signs for Highway 21, Hudson said. He wants one a block or two to the north of the school cross walk. “We get frequent complaints of speeding in those areas.”

One or two of the signs would be placed by the high school, and one would stand on 13th Street which comes into Belle Plaine from the east. “We get frequent complaints of speeding out there,” Hudson said.

The police chief hopes to reduce speeding and increase public safety in Belle Plaine by using the signs.

Hudson will find out in December if the police department will get grant money from Benton County Community Foundation. “I think we have a good shot at that one,” he said.

Hudson wants to replace laptops in the police vehicles as well. At 7 or 8 years old, the equipment is “long out of warranty by now,” said Hudson.

“The laptops that we use are standard laptops like anyone could go buy,” he said. The Iowa State Patrol has more rugged laptops, Hudson said, but they are cost prohibitive for the Belle Plaine police department.

“So we just get standard laptops. They do OK for us,” Hudson said, though the computers wear out more quickly because of “the bouncing around” in the vehicles.

The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau offers grants for overtime and for equipment, Hudson said. Belle Plaine was awarded $14,000 which it used for overtime and for an in-car video system and body-worn camera.

Belle Plaine was also awarded around $14,000 by the Mansfield Charitable Foundation for an in-car video system with bodycam and additional four or five body-worn cameras, Hudson said.

One of the camera systems will be outfitted in the new police vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe, which will replace one of the existing vehicles. Hudson doesn’t know when the new vehicle will arrive. It’s in line to be outfitted in Ankeny. “I’m hoping that’s done by the end of November,” Hudson said.

Hiring bonus

While he is updating equipment, Hudson is maintaining his police force. Hudson approached the Belle Plaine City Council recently about offering a hiring bonus to attract officers to Belle Plaine.

The city council asked Hudson for specific bonus amounts, but “I never got to that point because we ended up hiring [Logan Garwood].”

Garwood lives in Traer but grew up in Benton County, Hudson said. He started with the Belle Plaine Police Department this month, bringing the department’s officer total to five, including the chief.

“It’s getting increasingly difficult to get applications,” Hudson said. Larger cities that pay more can steal applicants from smaller towns, he said.

Often recruits come by word-of-mouth. “My last new hire was referred by one of the existing [Belle Plaine] officer,” Hudson said.