PERRY TOWNSHIP - Township trustees opened bids for a new pumper fire truck Saturday morning, with the low bid coming from Warren Fire Equipment for a KME model for $344,988.
Trustee Chairman Cliff Mix said they would take the bids under advisement. The only other bid submitted included two choices from Tri State Fire Apparatus for a Toyne pumper, with one model for $392,844 and another model for $374,025.
The KME bid is good for 45 days, with the Toyne bid good for 60 days. Trustees gave no indication when, if any, decision would be made on the bids.
Fiscal Officer Susan Johnston said the money would come from fire levy funds which have been kept on hand in case a need arose for a truck.
The township firefighters have been researching costs for a new pumper truck for several months, wanting to replace the 1977 pumper truck that Fire Chief Bruce Whitcher described earlier this year as a money pit for repairs. The truck committee had put together some specifications and came up with an estimated cost of $350,000 for a new truck.
In February, Warren Fire Equipment showed firefighters and trustees a demo model of a KME truck.
Fact Box
Old equipment will be sold
PERRY TWP. - Anyone looking for some old, obsolete fire equipment can submit sealed bids for an auction to the Perry Township Trustees by 6:30 p.m. July 23, the date of the board's next meeting.
In a press release, it was noted that none of the equipment should be used in a fire fighting situation because it's not suitable - the fire department is getting rid of the equipment because it can no longer be used.
Since the equipment was purchased with levy money, it can't just be thrown away.
The trustees have to hold an auction. In this case, they're doing it by sealed bid.
A complete list of the obsolete inventory can be seen on the door at the Perry Township administration and safety building at 2198 N. Ellsworth Ave., Salem, or a list can be secured by calling township Fiscal Officer Susan Johnston at 330-337-1210.
The sealed bids must be received by the time of the meeting at 6:30 p.m. July 23 and can be mailed to Perry Township Trustees, P.O. Box 112, Salem, Ohio 44460.
The list includes the following items: two jacket liners, 18 turnout gear coats (black), 15 turnout gear pants, 11 pair of firefighting boots, six flashlights, 15 masks, four pass units, four 1.5-inch nozzles, four air pack cases, 12 air pack harnesses, one Hurst junction box, one 25-foot booster hose, one hydraulic hose, two 10-foot sections of hard suction hose with no ends, one aluminum work light, one full-size light bar, one thermos, 12 helmets, 1 6-foot pike pole and one Scott air cylinder.
Besides the 1977 engine pumper, the department's fleet includes another engine pumper, a rescue truck which is shaped like a box truck and holds all the extrication equipment and rescue equipment, a tanker truck and a grass truck pickup. One engine and the tanker truck are kept at the south station off of Depot Road while the rest are kept at the north station off of state Route 45.
In other fire department business, Whitcher asked about the radio antenna system and tower and plans to possibly install a taller used tower at the north station in an effort to improve their radio communication, saying if there were going to be any more complications, they wanted to know about them now.
Plans had originally called for a new antenna to be placed on a taller tower off of state Route 344, with the space to be leased from a radio station, but a problem came up with the lease agreement after the prosecutor's office looked it over as the township's legal counsel.
The tower currently at the north station where the department's antenna is mounted is shorter and the signals can't get over the trees, causing some communication problems. At the last township trustee meeting, trustees indicated they had no problem with the department securing a taller used tower to place at the north station to improve the radio reception. At that meeting, Whitcher told trustees they had already secured a
license for the other tower .
He said at Saturday's meeting that they needed to get going on the project because they needed to get the new license for the north station by August.
Mix questioned why the license had been transferred when they had no lease contract in place for the other tower. Whitcher said he thought they had the go-ahead to go forward. If he had known there was going to be a problem with the lease agreement, he said he would not have transferred the license.
He said he's been talking with the Federal Aviation Administration the past two weeks and was told they would just have to register the new tower. He said they were told they could go up as high as 200 feet, but when asked how high they would have to go for the radios to work, he said 120 to 150 feet.
"I just don't want to go through all this work and a few months down the road have another snafu," Whitcher said.
Trustees indicated they didn't see a problem with putting the used tower at the north station.
Whitcher also asked if trustees had put together a resolution yet in support of the first responder program. They said they still needed to talk to the prosecutor's office to have that completed.
During the last meeting, firefighters said they were up for a grant from the Salem Community Foundation to fund the start-up costs, but they needed a resolution from the trustees to show they supported the program. Since that window was missed, Whitcher said they'll reapply in September if they have the trustees' resolution.
Whitcher again explained to trustees what having a first responder program would mean, noting that when an ambulance was called out for an emergency through 911, the fire department would be summoned also. The fire department would not provide transport, but would provide basic care at the scene, assisting the ambulance company or helping a patient until an ambulance company arrives.
He said the department has 12 firefighters certified as basic EMTs, which they did on their own at their own cost.
"We did this for the citizens. We don't get anything out of this. We just want to do it to give back to our citizens," he said.
In other business, the trustees approved the tax budget for 2013 which has to be submitted to the county auditor's officer representing estimated resources and a wish list of expenses for next year for all funds. The document to be submitted showed estimated expenses of $1,857,000 and estimated revenue of $1,029,750, not including any carryover the township would have from this year.
Johnston stressed that the tax budget isn't the same as what their actual budget appropriations will be for next year, which won't be figured until later in the year.
The actual appropriations for this year included estimated overall revenue of $1,026,750 and estimated expenses of $1,190,815. She said the carryover totaled about $2 million, but explained that most of that is money they have to keep on hand for the road fund and the fire fund.
"That's not all available to be spent," she said.
She stressed that most of the money is kept in certain funds for certain expenses, such as the road department and fire department, noting that money in the general fund for the township's day-to-day expenses is tight.
The next meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. July 23.
