WENDELL — Leverett Town Administrator Marjorie McGinnis is applying for a state grant that, if received, would help to finance a consultant to finalize a long-term policing agreement between Leverett and Wendell.
The towns entered into an initial 90-day inter-municipal agreement for Leverett to provide its policing services to Wendell starting in October, and recently extended the agreement to July 1. McGinnis said up to $200,000 is available, though it is unlikely she will apply for that much money, which would come through the governor’s Community Compact initiative.
The inter-municipal agreement was sparked after Wendell Police Chief Edward Chase retired late last year, having spent 43 years with his department.
At Monday’s meeting of the Wendell Police Succession Committee, Leverett Police Chief Scott Minckler said the arrangement has gotten mostly rave reviews from the Wendell residents he has spoken with. It was mentioned that Wendell Selectboard Chair Dan Keller received a complaint about a “speed trap,” but he and Minckler said a Leverett officer merely used a radar gun to clock a vehicle going too fast.
“The partnership’s going great and we’re just trying to work out a decent agreement that works out for both communities,” Minckler told the Greenfield Recorder on Tuesday.
Minckler explained that Wendell gets a four-hour specialized patrol every week, and his officers try their best to cruise through part of Wendell once per shift. The department has three third full-time officers and six part-time officers.
The chief mentioned that in mid-October, he and Officer William Campbell started cleaning out the Wendell Police Station at 4 Center St. He said inventory was taken and all police evidence in the building was taken to the Leverett Police Station. Some mechanical and electronic equipment is still being inventoried, and files and records have been taken. Other items were thrown away, recycled or put in storage.
Minckler said plans for the building are still “up in the air,” but there is talk of conducting some minor renovations and possibly using the site as a satellite office for Leverett officers.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.