By way of the consent agenda, Asheville City Council accepted a number of wizmo-gizmos from the Department of Homeland Security. The monetary value of only a couple items was mentioned in the associated staff reports. That is because items were either free – like a lunch – or mostly free with only a match required from the city. Wizmo-gizmos include communications items, a Razor EX Biological Field Sampler, and a Qinetiq Talon Hazard Material Response Robot. Councilman Cecil Bothwell said he found the gladiator-like names of the public safety items annoying.
While on the subject, Mayor Terry Bellamy asked what “snow fighting materials were.” She was told the materials, referenced in another consent agenda item, were sand and gravel. She directed the drafter of the staff reports to, “Next time, just say, ‘sand and gravel.'”
