ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen approved a plea from the police chief on Wednesday to dip into reserves for a new Chevrolet Tahoe cruiser at $75,000.

 

"We have done our very best to put a Band-Aid on things to get by," Chief K. Scott Kelley told the board. "But this a public safety issue."

 

Town meeting will see a request for single cruiser, down from two originally requested, but Kelley said the circumstances have become more dire after the engine blew in the vehicle used for the K9 unit.

 

"So that car also has 125,000 miles on it," the chief said. "And that's also a car that's not in rotation."

 

Another of the "very poor" condition vehicles has been in for repairs but has continued to worsen. The fleet has only two vehicles that are less than 10 years old 

 

"I understand the condition of the town financially but this is also your Police Department and I'm coming to you hopefully for the issue of emergency funds to get us at least close to where we need to be," Kelley said. 

 

The department had been hoping to obtain Clarksburg's two cruisers but the town on Tuesday opted to go with a bid from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts that was ready. Adams had offered two payments, with the second at the start of the next fiscal year. 

 

"That hurt us and put us back to square one," he said. "We have an emergency and we need to put a car in the rotation right now ... [Officer Kevin Stant] has been working all day to find those options ... this is the first time I've had to do this and I think it's necessary."

 

Chair John Duval said the goal had been to replace a cruiser every year but the schedule hadn't been kept and "we end up here."

 

Selectman Joseph Nowak queried Kelley about cruisers idling, saying he sees cruisers running outside the station, at the Specialty Minerals crossing and parked with the officers talking to each other. 

 

"They're parked up near the cemetery, sitting there watching the traffic go by," he said. "I don't know how long they were sitting there, but sure, yes, I see them all the time, and I'm not trying to be condescending, but you're telling me something that I see with my eyes."

 

Idling can contaminate the oil and impede its ability to lubricate the engine, he said, and that "prolonged idling can lead to incomplete combustion, which may cause carbon buildup in the engine and affect its longevity. Idling can cause fuel to wash away the oil which lubricates the motor, causing friction to ages the engine prematurely."

 

Nowak intimated that the idling was causing the damage to the cruisers and questioned the blown engine. 

 

Kelley responded that "if I knew I was going to get this" he would have brought a mechanic. Cruisers need to be kept warmed up during the winter and keeping the lights running at the Specialty Minerals crossing was a matter of safety, he said. 

 

"I think you're taking what you see on your own eyes and making an exaggeration of it," said the chief. "What are you saying, that my officers can't go up next to each other and talk to each other?'

 

"No," said Nowak but an obviously irritated Kelley continued that officers had been using their personal vehicles on details when he started. 

 

"No signage, no lights, no nothing. It is now policy that at least one car is out there with lights so my officers don't get run over," he said. "What's one complaint that I hear from everyone? Speeding ... speeding, traffic, people. I need lights, and I don't want my officers to get killed."

 

Nowak responded that Kelley was alleging "that I'm not caring about the police officers." "But that's why they're running. That's my answer," said the chief. 

 

Nowak said his solution would to be turn the cars off and have the officers use flashlights and big cones.

 

Kelley said the fleet is maintained and the oil regularly changed, and noted cruisers are running at least 12 to 15 hours, which causes a lot of wear and tear.

 

He twice asked Nowak what study he was reading from but the selectman said it wasn't a study. "I go on Google, and I asked, is idling a car for long periods of time detrimental to the engine of a car, and everything that I read, it was detrimental," he said. 

 

The board approved used of $75,000 from reserves with Nowak abstaining and referred the transfer to the Finance Committee.