MENTONE - Mentone Town Council continues to review possible new locations for town offices and the police department.

The current town council office, housed in a building belonging to the Mentone Fire Board, has become too small to store all necessary records and equipment for the street department, police department and town clerk.

Town Marshal Tim Carpenter presented his findings Monday in a search for new police department housing. The council and marshal had wanted to find a site on Main Street, but no properties are available.

The new office space would provide space to store city records and evidence for the police department. Carpenter told the council his storage space for evidence is full.

The council advised Carpenter to continue looking for either an existing structure or a possible construction site for a new town office, with the possibility of moving one or two blocks off Main Street, but keeping on the eastern end of town.

In other police business, the council approved Mentone Police Department's purchase of a used Motorola radio from Mentone Fire Department for $500.

In other business, the council:

• Approved 1997 salaries for city employees.

• Tabled discussion of comp time for salaried town employees to executive session. Current town policy on comp time is written as an hour for hour exchange to be used up quarterly.

• Discussed amendments to the plan for the $1.4 million water project. Several valves will need to be replaced, and omissions were noted by Brian Reed, utilities superintendent.

The next regular meeting is at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 in the town hall. A meeting between the council and the park, cemetery and zoning boards and Street Scenes will be scheduled later this month. [[In-content Ad]]