Jackson city leaders met Thursday to preview the proposals on next Tuesday's City Council agenda, from snow equipment to a new city judge.
Snow-clearing blades
The first item would spend $39,000 in federal relief money on snow-clearing equipment for public works crews, mostly blades. Vice Mayor Richard Donnell said the city was "in bad shape" in January's snowstorm. The blades would be fitted to vehicles the city already owns so crews can scrape ice off roads.
Abandoned vehicles
An ordinance amendment would shorten the time limit for removing wrecked, junked and abandoned vehicles that often sit on streets for weeks.
City court judge
Five local attorneys have applied. Eight council members are expected to attend, and officials set up a special runoff process that requires five votes to win. "We'll go potentially through several rounds of voting," Mayor Scott Conger said.
Roads
The council plans to commit $400,000 in matching funds to rebuild Airways Boulevard between Hollywood and the bypass. Another $150,000 would go toward the Interstate 40 westbound ramp at Exit 87; Conger said private developers, not taxpayers, will fully pay for that project.
Police and fire technology
The council reviewed a proposal for Jackson police to switch to a gunshot detection system called Flock Raven. Leaders said it would cover four square miles, detect vehicle crashes and save the city $167,000 a year compared with the current vendor. They also discussed a contract with Haas Alert, which would send digital warnings to drivers' dashboards and GPS apps when fire trucks are headed to a scene or stopped on the highway.
Sources: WBBJ-TV