Joplin City Council approves DWI enforcement grant

The Joplin City Council has accepted a grant from MoDOT to help Joplin Police with DWI Enforcement around the city. It approves says that MoDOT grant of $106,688 will to fund 50% of the salary, fringe, and the overtime of two police officer positions. This grant also covers 100% of funding to replace mouthpieces for PBT and Breath Alcohol Instruments as well as for the replacement of one of the DWI Vehicles.

Substance-impaired drivers contributed to 25.6% of Missouri’s traffic crash fatalities during the past five years. Alcohol remains the primary contributor to substance-impaired driving crashes; however, the number of persons under the influence of prescription medications and/or illicit drugs continues to increase. Ten percent of the children less than 15 years of age who were killed in motor vehicle crashes over the last five years, were riding with a substance-impaired driver.

A second grant of $12,798 with MoDOT will fund DWI Saturation Patrols as well as Youth Alcohol Enforcement efforts.

The council also approved the voluntary annexation for a future road widening project. It would annex a portion of right-of-way located along 32nd street west of Schifferdecker, between Central City and Golf Link Roads near Iron Gates Road. They did remove a reference to annexing Crow Road during the public hearing.

A council bill for construction of the NID IV Sidewalk 2018 Project in the amount of $307,238 was struck down by council.