Wetzel Ford submitted the only proposal to provide Richmond Police Department with two Ford Explorer Interceptor vehicles.
The city’s Board of Public Works and Safety approved a $98,618 contract with Wetzel during its June 11 meeting. Money for the two vehicles is coming from the city’s opioid settlement money. Each year, the city receives a share of Indiana’s settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers for their roles in opioid addiction.
The city is also receiving bids for six other Ford police vehicles. Richmond Common Council has appropriated $360,000 from general fund cash reserves for those six vehicles and the lighting, siren and equipment packages for all eight vehicles.
Should Wetzel receive that bid, the city would have purchased all eight vehicles Wetzel received after placing an order last fall at RPD’s request. Money for the vehicles was removed from the 2026 budget, leaving the vehicles in limbo on Wetzel’s lot.
Other actions
- The board approved a $164,000 contract with Browning Chapman LLC of Westfield to restore the E.G. Hill Memorial Fountain in the Richmond Rose Garden.
- Contracts with probationary firefighters Jadon Kolb and Brandon Wetherell were approved. The contracts require the firefighters to achieve paramedic certification within five years.
- The board also approved Richmond Fire Department contracts with Kinder Enterprises of Indianapolis for $2,499 to update the floor of the police and fire training center’s building and with Wallace Heating and Air for $5,338 to replace the radiant heater in the wagon room at Station 1.
- A $1,000 contract with Lyons Insurance and Real Estate was approved for the appraisals of two city-owned vacant lots in the Irish Hills Subdivision. The appraisals are a step toward selling the parcels.
- RPD received approval for a $940 contract with Koorsen Fire and Security to inspect fire extinguishers at the police garage on South Q Street.
- RFD’s request to terminate a probationary firefighter was approved.
A version of this article appeared in the June 17 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
