Council Approves Fire Department Tanker Truck Purchase

The has approved the bonding and purchase of a new pumper truck, part of a long-term plan designed to replace the aging fleet in an efficient manner without incurring massive costs to the town.

The council voted 8-0 Tuesday evening to approve the purchase of the truck in the amount of $560,000, which will be paid through bonding. Local resident Sandra Feld questioned the interest that would be paid on such bonding but Town Manager Garry Brumback said the figures were not immediately available.

Councilman Peter Romano was absent and did not vote.

“The need was there and it was a different process,” said Town Council Chairman Edward Pocock III. “The individual involvement of the firefighters allowed the committee to really determine the need and the department should be applauded for that.”

Fire Chief Harold Clark first came before town officials earlier this fall when he made the initial request .

According to Clark, the town’s fire engine fleet was not only aging but several of the trucks were in a state of near disrepair and could only be used for emergency purposes. The oldest truck is 24-years-old and the town’s newest apparatus are now approaching 12-years-old he said.

The last time the town purchased trucks was in 1999, he said, a point where needs forced Southington into bonding nearly $2.5 million for new equipment.

“All of our equipment is at least 10-years-old now. The fleet is not just aging, it’s old,” Lt. James Paul Jr. told the council on Tuesday.

Paul and Clark said with this purchase, the town would replace a 24-year-old truck at Engine Co. 1 and move the current Engine 11 apparatus at to Engine Co. 1. The new truck, which is scheduled to be ready for use in late 2012, would serve as the primary response truck at headquarters.

The town will also develop a long-range plan to purchase new trucks in two-year cycles as part of the capital improvement plan, Clark said, eliminating the need for additional requests in the future.

“You’ve given the community real good reasons why this is so necessary,” Councilman John Barry said before the council approved the purchase.

Editor’s Notepad…
The council Tuesday set a public hearing for Oct. 24 to hear arguments from the public on whether a hotel abatement program should be established...If approved, the program would provide five-year abatement on new real estate and personal property for existing hotels that commit at least $100,000 to renovations…Repairs are running on or even ahead of schedule in the Misery Brook watershed area near Stonegate Road, said Brumback...With the project beginning today, work should be completed by Nov. 25.