THATCHER — The Thatcher Town Council accepted a grant from Freeport-McMoRan on Monday and immediately agreed to spend it all on an initiative that serves the entire county.
Sean Wenham, manager of Strategic Community Development for Freeport, presented a check for $28,000 during Monday’s regular council meeting.
The funds are for upgrades to the audio and video systems at the Municipal Court, a joint venture between Thatcher, Pima and Safford.
“This is a good thing, and something we’re very proud to support,” Wenham said. “We appreciate the grant application.”
The upgrades will allow the court to hear out-of-area witnesses via digital transmission, rather than spend funds to fly them in to testify at trials, as well as conduct other pre-trial conferences.
Mayor Jenny Howard praised Freeport, United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties, and those who donate for making grants available to the community.
“A lot of these projects can’t happen unless they obtain these funds,” Howard said.
The Town Council then reviewed four bids for the upgrades — two from Phoenix companies, one from a Kentucky firm and one from a Thatcher company — and voted unanimously to award the contract to Double R Sound of Thatcher in an amount not to exceed $40,000, which is $9,000 lower than the next lowest bid.
