Collinsville to turn RV into command center
Police to seek bids on building out motor home
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| CHRIS COATES PHOTO A seized recreation vehicle sits behind the Collinsville Police Department offices on Clay Street last week. The department is turning the motor home into a mobile command center. |
Assistant Chief Maj. Terry M. Bell said the department expects to ask the City Council later this month to approve seeking bids for making the recreational vehicle ready to house police and staff during an emergency.
The department seized the motor home from a drug dealer about five years ago and later loaned it to a Mississippi police department after Hurricane Katrina tore up the Gulf Coast in 2005.Bell said the RV returned in need of a repairs.
"Since we got it back, it was in bad shape," he said.
The 1990s cream RV, which uses a Ford E-350 truck body, has been stored at the department's Clay Street headquarters.
Bell said they plan to tear out walls and replace the interior with dry-erase boards. The department plans to use the RV during large emergencies or in cases where bad weather becomes an issue.
The renovations will be paid for using money seized from drug dealers.
"The bad guys will pay for all that," Bell said.
The newly rehabbed RV is expected to hit the streets around Halloween.
The Madison County Emergency Management Agency has a similar command center. The city of Madison last year paid $3,800 for two motor homes that it turned into emergency centers.
Collinsville several years ago retrofitted a seized black pick-up truck for use by its D.A.R.E. program. That truck now sits next to the RV and is graced with a Illinois license plate that reads "SEIZED."
