A K-9 officer will soon be on the Seminole Police Department’s roster and the Fire Department will be adding a new ambulance to its fleet in the near future.

The Seminole City Council on Tuesday approved the purchase of a “dual purpose” police K-9 and a new Type II ambulance.

Mayor Jeff Griffin asked Police Chief Jon Withers what the term “dual purpose K-9” meant.

“It’s a police canine that can track and detect illegal narcotics,” Withers said. “It can also be used to track wanted fugitives as well as missing adults and children.” Withers added that the dog could be used to assist other agencies as needed.

According to City Manager Steve Saxon, endowment funds that have already been collected will be used to purchase the dog. The purchase amount is not to exceed $8,000 as per the proposal approved by the council.

The council also approved the low bid of $102,154 plus $2,300 for a cot fastener from Osage Ambulance to purchase a new “Type II” ambulance. The purchase is a budgeted item to be funded from Cares Act proceeds.

According to Fire Chief Fielding Lucas, the new ambulance is needed because all of the existing vehicles are high mileage.

“Our newest ambulance, which is a 2019 model, has over 180,000 miles on it,” Fielding told the council. “Our other two have over 250,000 miles on them.”

The council also approved an $18,979 bid from Service Master Commercial Services to clean and sanitize the fire department. The city will be reimbursed by proceeds from the AFG Covid Supplement Grant of $39,149.

In other business Tuesday, the council discussed the adoption of a curfew in the downtown district to prevent loitering, vagrancy and other unlawful activities in the area. The matter was listed on the agenda as a discussion item only, so no action was taken.