ALAMOSA — During Wednesday’s regular meeting there were two items before council regarding upgrading areas. There was a motion to purchase a stump grinder not in excess of $10,000 as well as new surveillance equipment penned specifically for criminal investigations and/or narcotic operations.

Both items passed with unanimous support from council.

Both issues were worthy causes, stumps were brought to the city’s attention due to a large cottonwood that needs to be removed because of the First Street project. Stumps and roots are also a problem as the City installs or replaces sidewalks. Crews are  often forced to either attempt to remove roots by hand or to pour a sidewalk on top of the root system. Which is a makeshift fix as roots may grow to damage the sidewalk again.

“We feel this piece of equipment will be a good investment for the city and certainly help protect the investment of the citizens,” said Alamosa Public Works Director Harry Reynolds hoping to protect taxpayers.

Also approved was the surveillance equipment. The majority of which was in the realm of camera equipment. A lack of surveillance equipment has made investigations difficult for detectives to actively monitor complaints of potential narcotic distribution.  To create an operational plan for these kinds of investigations is very time consuming. Which will be made easier by having the proper equipment to obtain pertinent indicators of distribution.

“This is an ever evolving situation that we need to stay on top of to keep our community safe,” said Alamosa Police Chief.