A 20-foot-long enclosed trailer once confiscated as evidence from a crime will soon be used as the new mobile command vehicle for the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.
The public safety committee voted Sept. 2 to authorize the disposal or sale of the existing Winnebago RV and replace it with the trailer.
“That was obtained on a grant (in 2004),” Lt. Chris Madle said of the RV. “Recently we obtained a 20-foot enclosed trailer. During an investigation, we were never able to prove ownership of said trailer. Proper procedures and steps were done to determine who the trailer belonged to, and we got official confirmation to dispose of the trailer as evidence and use as department use.”
Proceeds from the sale of the existing unit will be added to the county’s vehicle replacement fund. Then, the new trailer would be added to the list of vehicles to be replaced on a regular basis.
“We have most of the computer and server equipment, being that it’s already in the RV camper,” Madle said of the pending makeover of the trailer. “We would just do most of the work in-house, use budget money that we have from different budgets for equipment and supplies, build some desks on the inside of it and do what we need to do as far as the electrical work.”
He said the RV is rarely used, but it has served its purpose for the past 20-plus years.
“We pay a lot more now every year to maintain the thing, and it’s not really used for a heck of a lot,” he said.
Sheriff George Lenzner agreed.
“I think the upkeep in the future is going to be a lot cheaper, too,” he said. “It’s similar to what we did with the dive van before we went to the trailer, because we were putting so much money every year to keep these old vehicles running. It comes to the point, ‘Is it really worth it?’ There’s very little to no upkeep in a trailer.”
Once operational, the trailer will be hauled behind a truck. Madle said a maintenance vehicle would be used to haul the trailer this year. Next year, when a new emergency management truck is purchased, that will be used to haul the trailer.
Madle said a truck with a trailer is much easier to drive around than the Winnebago.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
