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07/19/2016 04:00 PMIn a special town meeting on July 6, Clinton residents approved the appropriation of $650,000 for the purchase of a new fire truck for the town. The resolution passed by a vote of 21-1.
Though the purchase was originally approved for $600,000 in October 2015, subsequent estimates came in significantly higher. The lowest bid was $646,000.
The new engine being purchased is a pumper trunk, which carries water and hose, and that has a primary function of being the first apparatus for any fire-related incident, according to Clinton Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) Chief Brian Manware.
“It will be housed at fire headquarters,” he said, “and will replace a 1998 engine that will then become a reserve apparatus, which is used when one of the other engines is out of service for repairs.”
The current spare is a 1988 engine.
“It’s important to replace these vehicles every 20 to 25 years for several reasons,” Manware said, citing changes in function and performance over the trucks’ life span as well as the evolving needs of the community and how the Fire Department serves the community.
“Over a 20-year period, you can see a vast array of safety and technological advances in apparatus. The fire service strives to make these units safer and safer every year,” Manware said. “As units age, just like your own car, they tend to cost more and more on an annual basis to keep them in tip-top shape. We have to maintain them well in order for them to last over 20 years.”
Manware says the CVFD hopes to sign the contract with Meyersdale, Pennsylvania-based 4 Guys Fire Apparatus, the successful bidder on this project, within the next week. The anticipated build time, he says, is a little over one year. “It won’t likely go into service responding to calls until late 2017.”
The current 1988 reserve pumper will likely be auctioned off by the town once the new engine arrives.
Clinton’s existing fleet of fire apparatus (not including any ambulances, EMS units, or staff or support vehicles) consists of three pumpers, one tanker, an aerial ladder truck, a heavy rescue truck, two brush trucks, and a reserve pumper. The size and makeup of the fleet, Manware says, is based on the needs of the community as determined by nationally recognized standards identified by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, National Fire Prevention Association, and the International Organization for Standardization.
A few voters at the July 6 town meeting raised concerns about how the new truck would be paid for. (Though it is being ordered now, it will not be invoiced for at least another seven months.) One of the concerns raised was that the new fire truck could be classified as a capital expenditure, and when budget cuts are necessary, the capital expenditure budget is typically the first to get cut.
Board of Finance Chairman Jack Scherban, who was not present at the town meeting, said, “When the time comes to purchase the vehicle, we will sit down with Janet Murphy, our finance director, for our best options. She is in contact with the lending institutions for the best rates. It could be financed as a lease-purchase or an outright purchase. It comes down to rates.”
Concerns about the truck becoming an unfunded expenditure, he said, should be laid to rest.