The city will keep a problematic aerial fire truck as a backup rather than selling it.
The old truck has had ongoing maintenance concerns since the city purchased it in 2009. It was out of service 70 per cent of the time between July 2012 and October 2014, and in a 12-month period in 2014 and 2015 the truck was out of service 95 per cent of the time.
The original aerial truck was to be replaced in 2028 but because of the ongoing issues council voted to expedite the date and replace it in 2016. The new unit was delivered last month.
Council made the decision at the Nov. 28 meeting to hold on to the old aerial fire truck, sometimes referred to as a ladder truck, which was slated for sale following delivery of a new truck.
Coun. Sheena Hughes made the motion, which was approved unanimously, that would see the unit instead kept as a backup and have administration report on its condition in early 2018.
“I think it may be good enough to function as a backup, and we won’t know that until we see stats a year from now,” she said.
Hughes noted the plan to purchase a new truck to serve as a secondary aerial unit would be difficult to accomplish, given the city’s forecasted 10-year capital budget deficit of more than $300 million.
While the plan had initially been to sell the truck for an estimated $500,000 and put that money toward the purchase of a new aerial truck, council heard that sale price is no longer realistic given the current market.
Mayor Nolan Crouse, mistakenly reading from a confidential administrative report, indicated there had been an offer of $120,000 for the truck, which the city rejected, and that there are currently three similar trucks sitting on a reseller’s lot in the United States that have been there for two years.
“The dollar range of $120,000 to 300,000 seems to be the most accurate number, and it will likely take at least two years to sell the unit,” Crouse said.
Fire Chief Ray Richards explained that the initial estimate of $500,000 was the best guess last year, but given the fact there are already similar second-hand units out there that aren’t selling, it is no longer realistic.
He said given all the factors, at this point in time it would still be able to serve the city even if it’s not optimal as a front-line unit.
“As we sit right now and what we know, it would be a good backup unit,” he said.
