Hillsboro buys new fire truck

This is the fire truck Hillsboro purchased upon the recommendation of the newly formed advisory board. It took some last-minute hustle and a couple of special meetings, but the city of Hills?boro has purchased a used pumper fire truck at a cost of $198,100.

The decision to move ahead with the purchase was made at a special meeting of the Hillsboro City Council last Wednesday.

The proposal was presented the previous day, during a meeting designated as ?special? because it had been postponed one week from the designated day.

In a 30-minute Power?Point presentation to the council at the Tuesday meeting, Fire Chief Ben Steketee said his department and the rural partners had identified two trucks that needed to be replaced: the old rural pumper and the rescue truck the city acquired in recent years from the city of Florence.

Under the provisions of the 2013 fire-protection contract between Hillsboro and the city of Lehigh and surrounding townships, $250,000 had been allocated for a new truck.

Steketee said the department?s truck review committee had come up with a plan that could address both needs within the allotted budget.

Part of the plan was to replace the cab and chassis of the rescue truck rather than buy a different truck, which would significantly reduce the cost.

The plan reached the presentation stage after the committee became aware of a 2004 Pierce four-wheel-drive pumper truck through Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Union Grove, Ala.

Four members of the committee, which included professional mechanics, traveled to Alabama to inspect the vehicle. Several mechanical issues were discovered, but all repairs would be covered within the agreed-upon sale price.

Steketee said during his presentation last Tuesday that the 10-year-old truck had around 80,000 miles on it, but reasonably could be expected to last 25 years and 300,000 miles.

Beyond that, the truck had every option stipulated by township representatives?and many more than that.

Steketee said the truck, under stipulations of the contract, would be brought to an ?excellent? rating before being released to a buyer.

Steketee said if built new from the ground up, the truck would cost around $600,000.

The council appeared to be ready to act on the proposal, but the issue became complicated. The company had said they would hold the truck until the end of the day, based on the council?s decision whether to purchase it.

Mayor Delores Dalke said the truck was ?wonderful,? but reminded the council that the city?s surrounding partners had strongly stipulated their right to have input regarding major fire-fighting equipment purchase prior to action.

?They were afraid we would go out and buy stuff without ever talking to them,? Dalke said. ?I think they have to have a chance to look at this.?

The fire-protection contract calls for the creation of an advisory board for that purpose, but Dalke said she had not appointed the members yet because it had not been an urgent matter?until now.

?I should have done it sooner, but I didn?t know we were going to buy a truck right away,? she said.

A recommendation from Councilor Byron McCarty to go ahead with the purchase died for a lack of a second.

City Administrator Larry Paine then suggested an alternate recommendation to appoint and convene the advisory board as soon as possible, and have it develop a recommendation for the council to consider.

The motion was moved by Councilor Shelby Dirks, seconded by McCarty and passed 3-0.

Dalke then presented her list of advisory board appointees, which the council then ratified.

Members of the advisory board are Dale Klassen and Jim Enns from Risley Township; Ron Matz from Lehigh Township; Clark Wiebe and Jared Jost from Liberty Township and Craig Leppke from Menno Town?ship.

Dalke said she reserved the right to appoint additional members if needed, including one from the city of Lehigh.

Within 24 hours of last Tuesday?s adjournment, the advisory board appointees met, viewed the same presentation from Steketee and formulated a recommendation to purchase the rural pumper truck from Brindlee Mountain.

The council approved the recommendation Wednesday afternoon.

With the number of repairs the company has agreed to make, Steketee said it could be a month or more before the truck is ready for delivery.

Other business

In other business, the council:

? approved a new plat for the housing addition called South Carriage Hills. The original plat was approved Feb. 18, 2013. Developer Darrell Driggers redesigned the original plat to allow for three additional lots for a total of 29. Most of the lots have been resized smaller to accomplish the change.

? approved ordinances 1245 and 1246, which change the city code to allow educational entities to house farm animals within the city limits. The action was in support of the school farm project initiated by USD 410.

? approved Council Policy 84, which outlines the process for reviewing the school farm and similar projects.

? approved Resolution 2014-04, which communicates the city?s intent to withdraw from the Midwest Public Risk of Kansas insurance pool to consider other health-insurance options.

? approved Police Chief Dan Kinning?s request to send Marion resident Tim Young, 49, to a two-week officer-training class in May at the Kansas Law Enforce?ment Training Center.

Kinning has recruited Young to be a part-time officer in relief of full-time officers who frequently have been tapped for coverage hours above their normal schedule.

Kinning said the cost of the training is subsidized by the state, but the city essentially would be responsible to pay Young a two-week salary during the training at the rate of $12 per hour.

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