Spirit Lake PD buys third patrol car

SPIRIT LAKE - The Spirit Lake Police Department has its third squad car after all.

The City Council agreed to purchase the 2005 Dodge Magnum during its meeting last week, wrapping up nearly two months of questions behind a pair of contracts. The dispute kept the restored all-wheel drive vehicle parked while the city and Police Chief Wiley Ronnenberg figured out what to do.

The four-member council agreed to purchase the vehicle for $13,260 from the police department's budget.

The decision concludes two months of confusion inside the tiny lakeside community north of Rathdrum regarding the legality of what some people felt were makeshift contracts between Mayor Roxy Martin and Police Chief Wiley Ronnenberg about how the police department was obtaining the car.

Some members of council were upset originally that the car had been purchased by Ronnenberg, who wanted to restore the totaled car and sell it back to the city as a squad car, which he had done twice before.

This time around, some council members felt the contracts green lighting the vehicle's purchase for the city, were forged and inaccurate.

The first contract council saw listed Ronnenberg as a private seller. When council questioned the legality of a private purchase for a police car, a second contract was produced listing Ronnenberg as a representative of Insurance Auto Auctions Dealer, but the dealer number on the contract didn't match any dealer from Idaho or Washington state.

The group called an executive session meeting in November - a closed door meeting between council members and the mayor to discuss personnel matters confidentially - to discuss employee matters leading up to the contracts.

Councilman Bill Erickson voiced the lone vote of disapproval when council voted on the purchase last week.

"For me nothing's changed," Erickson said, who also expressed his disapproval of the purchase two months ago.

"I don't know what changed for the rest of council," he said. "I've been against this thing from the beginning."

Ronnenberg could not be reached for comment and Martin did not return calls from The Hagadone News Network.

City Attorney Nancy Stricklin denied accusations of any wrongdoing between the city and Ronnenberg, claiming the process for which the city obtained the car was legal.

The city's police department had requested a third vehicle at the budget session in July, which council agreed Ronnenberg could pursue if the police department could fit it in its budget.