FLEET — Five of the seven vehicles donated to the Mingo Junction Police Department by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department sit parked behind the Mingo Junction city building. -- Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — The Mingo Junction Police Department’s fleet of vehicles more than doubled in size last week, owing to a seven-vehicle donation from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

Parked behind the city building are six used vehicles that — with some tune-ups — the MJPD hopes to use for expanded operations, including a proposed special response team and K-9 unit. The village service department will take ownership of a seventh vehicle to help meet its needs.

On Wednesday, Police Chief Willie McKenzie III surveyed the lineup of four SUVs, two vans and a mid-size sedan, remarking: “Just like a (big city) fleet would be.”

“This donation is a significant step in building our fleet, allowing us to expand our capacity to service the village,” he said.

Adding to the department’s current five-vehicle fleet, the donation stems from late 2024, when the MJPD began looking to add another cruiser to its resources, according to McKenzie.

Village Council initially expressed concerns, citing anticipated financial issues resulting from a year of lost income tax revenue. Council ultimately approved McKenzie to spend $5,000 from two police department funds, allowing him to obtain a decommissioned 2017 Ford Explorer from the Steubenville Police Department. McKenzie said that the cruiser has been outfitted and “going great (ever) since.”

In the meantime, Patrol Officer Blayke Malone had been calling multiple different departments, seeking cruiser donations. In early November, he connected with Charlotte Ashcraft, director of fleet management for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, and they corresponded for a couple of months.

Roughly two weeks ago, McKenzie said, Ashcraft notified Malone that the sheriff’s office had seven vehicles available, though other departments had also expressed interest. Ashcraft contacted Malone again when “no one showed up for anything,” McKenzie said, and if Mingo officers could come to Columbus and get them, then the cruisers would be theirs.

Within two days of the notice, Malone and McKenzie made the trip, inspected the vehicles and finalized paperwork. The MJPD paid a transportation company in Columbus to move the vehicles, which arrived Feb. 3.

McKenzie said the MJPD is “incredibly grateful to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, who generously donated these vehicles to us — at no cost.”

The vehicles themselves include a 2018 Ford Explorer with 122,000 miles, a 2019 Ford Explorer with 125,000 miles, a 2019 Ford Explorer with 137,000 miles, a 2015 Ford Taurus with 176,000 miles, a 2015 Ford Explorer with 200,000 miles, a 2013 Chevy Express passenger van with 180,000 miles and a 2009 Ford E-Series Wagon with 139,000 miles.

Some vehicles require “minimal work to be road-ready,” McKenzie said. That could range from repairs to internal components to adding decals, he added, though each vehicle has newer tires that likely won’t need to be replaced.

The MJPD’s fleet manager, Malone said it’s “a blessing” to have the additional cruisers, and work on the vehicles is being done in house as much as possible.

Malone said three of the Explorers will begin serving as patrol cruisers: Two will handle standard patrol operations, and the third will act as a K-9 cruiser. The department hopes to add a K-9 unit, Malone added, and the cruiser is already equipped for such use, needing only a few updates to meet the department’s standards.

The Express will serve the department’s proposed special response team, Malone said. Supplied with armor and firearms, the vehicle will provide for “better readiness and a faster response time with the equipment we need.”

Furthermore, the department plans to retire its Ford Crown Victoria, with the Taurus taking its place, Malone said. A final vehicle will serve as the MJPD’s investigative vehicle.

McKenzie added that vehicles will play a role in future promotional and community events.

In coordination with Mayor Judy Ruckman and Village Administrator Darrin Corrigan, the E-Series Wagon has been earmarked for the service department to relieve its own aging convoy.

Growth of the fleet coincides with planned personnel growth in the police department. McKenzie said the MJPD is focused on hiring additional officers in 2025 to expand the department and “provide the best service to our community.”

Apart from the Crown Victoria and former Steubenville Police Department cruiser, the MJPD boasts three cruisers.

Two of those cruisers — both Explorers — are assigned to Malone and Patrol Officer Ashley Close, who can take the vehicles home and respond with them, in case additional personnel are needed on scene. McKenzie said the take-home policy has “tremendously” improved officer response times, and he thanked Ruckman for approving the policy late last year.

Part of the MJPD’s approach to cruisers has been preventing “hot seating” — when officers use a single cruiser instead of multiple, causing wear and tear to build on the one, Malone said. Having more vehicles at the department’s disposal allows wear and tear to be shared among vehicles and allow individual cruisers to have breaks between shifts.

To ensure cruisers keep current on maintenance, officers have been completing weekly vehicle reports, Malone said. Accessible on each officer’s mobile device, a checklist runs through various components — tire pressure, lights, fluids, for instance — and allows officers to document any abnormalities and current status, if any aspects need imminent service.