Windham police will be adding a new vehicle to their fleet: a 2006 Chevrolet Suburban, outfitted as an emergency vehicle in bad weather and a showcase vehicle for Windham’s DARE – Drug Abuse Resistance Education – program.

Ironically, $20,000 of $32,000 price tag is being funded through money seized from local drug busts. However, the Suburban purchase met with controversy at Tuesday’s Windham council meeting as residents spoke out against buying an expensive “gas-guzzler” to take kids on DARE field trips.

“I see no reason to carry the DARE program in an expensive vehicle like this… we don’t even know where gas prices are going,” said Lane Hiltunen of Gray Road. “I don’t think we need a car with a large (engine), large tires and heavy-duty everything. I think we need a large 4-wheel drive vehicle we can use in emergencies and that’s all we need.”

Hiltunen said that gas prices have “skyrocketed” and that Governor John Baldacci even traded in his SUV recently for a more gas-efficient car.

Other residents looked less at the efficiency of the vehicle and attacked the purpose of the truck. Tom Gleason of Cook Road said that, even though the police got a “good price” on the Suburban, there was no need to shuttle the DARE program around in a “showcase” vehicle.

“Taxpayers can’t keep paying for this nonsense. Especially when we already have vans that we use for this purpose,” Gleason said. “We just don’t need this vehicle at this time.”

The Suburban will replace a four-wheel drive Blazer that “died” this past spring, says Police Chief Rick Lewsen. Over the winter, police used the Blazer and a code enforcement truck, rigged with police lights on top, to run emergencies in snow storms and inclement weather.

‘We’ve tried to replace that surplus vehicle with another vehicle three times, but it never really fit the bill,” Chief Rick Lewsen said at the meeting. The new vehicle “may be viewed now as a gas-hog; a big Suburban to showcase for drug education. However, I’m funding two-thirds of this through drug-forfeiture money and it makes a difference.”

The Suburban will feature the DARE logo and flag boasting drug resistance education, Lewsen said. The vehicle comes equipped with a V8 engine and can fit up to nine people, ideal for DARE field trips – like kayaking, rafting and hiking – and situations where a squad of police cars – such as at college parties in Gorham – might attract unneeded attention, Lewsen said.

Former Town Councilor Gordon Browne argued that $32,000 was “a lot of bells and whistles” for a truck, and that for $4,000 more the police could buy two 4-wheel drive trucks.

“Who are we trying to impress?” Browne asked. “Certainly not the taxpayers.”

Councilor Lloyd Bennett noted that the police department had been “frugal” over the years with its budget and agreed with Lewsen that spending drug bust money to promote drug resistance education, as well as giving the department a new emergency vehicle, was appropriate.

In the end, the council voted unanimously to approve the purchase of the Suburban.