Bath police acquire a third drone

by Laura Bednar

Dec. 5 township trustees meeting

The Bath Police Department purchased a DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise drone for $4,553. A Bath Community Fund grant for $2,500 will cover part of the cost, with the balance split between the police and fire departments. Police Chief and Township Administrator Vito Sinopoli said he will recommend trustees approve payment at the next trustee meeting, but the drone has not yet been delivered.

Bath Township trustees approved the purchase of a Matrice 30 Drone for $18,907 in October. In addition, resident Roger Mortimer donated a DJI Avata drone to the police department at the end of November, giving the township three drones.

Planning Director and Zoning Inspector Bill Funk explained that larger drones are used for surveillance, medium-sized drones fly a specific route to create geographic information system maps, and smaller drones record video in interior spaces.

The police department will apply for the Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment Fund grant for developing best practices and actively recruiting highly qualified law enforcement officers. Sinopoli said the Ohio Department of Public Safety appropriated funds to offer grants to communities that experienced difficulty during the pandemic. The township plans to recruit and replace law enforcement positions by providing job fair materials and covering wages of officers who attend fairs after hours. If awarded, the grant funds would be used for these types of recruiting.

Trustees approved an $18,210 payment to Speelman Electric for the Veterans Memorial parking lot project, which includes the replacement of light poles and fixtures. The lights are now LED.

Also approved was an agreement with the Teamsters union to create a fleet maintenance job description. Sinopoli said the service department wants an employee to assist with fleet maintenance and work on equipment. ∞