Winfield council approves turnout gear purchase

WINFIELD — The Winfield City Council approved the purchase of new turnout gear for the Winfield Fire Department during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Fire Chief Blake Farley spoke to the council during the meeting and explained the department’s need for 10 new sets of equipment.
“Right now, we have zero backup gear and zero gear to put volunteers in,” he said. “The stuff we did have has run out of its shelf life of 10 years.
“That backup gear also served as gear that our full time guys could get into so they could wash and clean their stuff, with cancer prevention being a big deal.”
Farley said the new gear would cost about $3,000 for each set based on the quotes he got.
The council voted to approve the purchase.
The city council also accepted a bid for fencing around the pickleball courts being built at the park.
The council accepted a bid from Crumpton Fence in Winfield for $21,725.04 for an 8 ft. coated fence to go around the court, which was the lowest bid for a coated fence.
A galvanized fence would have been slightly cheaper at around $19,000, but councilman Brad Burroughs said the black coating would last longer and age better, as it wouldn’t show rust.
Parks and Recreation Director Gina Bryant said she would also prefer the black coating, and lighting for the court would likely be the next step in the project.
Other bids were received from Kowboy Fence Company out of Huntsville for over $26,000, and from the American Tennis Court Association for just over $28,000, leaving Crumpton as the lowest.
In other business:
• The council passed a proclamation recognizing January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month;
• The council approved the annual back to school sales tax holiday on the weekend of July 17-19;
• The council voted to approve the housing authority board’s recommendation to reappoint board member Gary Barker for another term;
• The council voted to start for renewing CD #59859, which will be opened in the next meeting on Jan. 20;
• The council discussed the ongoing project to put decals on city vehicles;
• Mayor Randy Price said he is still working on putting everything together for the next paving project for bid. Councilman Miles Miles suggested adding Lynx Street to the list;
• The council discussed possible remedies to complaints involving the speed bump on Kirkwood Street; and
• The council discussed plans for ceiling renovations and ongoing work at the library.