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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,May 10,2021 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT <br /> 13. FIRE DEPARTMENT UTILITY VEHICLE REQUEST <br /> Fire Chief James Van Ey11 said the Fire Department has a capital project for 2021 to replace Utility 13 <br /> with a vehicle similar to Utility 11 (pictures included in the packet).The new utility vehicle would be at <br /> Station 1,the old utility vehicle would move to Station 2, and the grass rig(Utility 21)would be <br /> repurposed back to a utility truck at Station 1. This has been in the capital plan for the last few years and <br /> in 2018 the officers met and revised the plan a bit which is where they combined Utility vehicles 11 and <br /> 13 together for efficiency in paring down the fleet.Bids have come in higher than expected,ranging from <br /> $170,000 to$190,000. Chief Van Eyll noted in the capital plan they had$130,000 allocated for this and <br /> he is before the Council tonight to see what the City would like to do with this capital purchase for 2021. <br /> Seals noted there is a$20,000 difference between the truck bids from Fire Safety U.S.A. and McQueen <br /> and asked if it is like a Kia versus a Chevy. <br /> Chief Van Eyll replied they were both given the Utility truck with the same parameters that the Fire <br /> Department wanted to duplicate; a four-door pickup truck, single tires on the back,fiberglass body,and a <br /> slip-in unit for grass rigs.He noted McQueen is the"Cadillac"builder out there,they are fantastic fire <br /> truck builders but one does pay for that.He was surprised to see Fire Safety U.S.A./CET as one of the <br /> lower bids and he expected Midwest Fire,which is local to Minnesota,to be one of the lower ones. <br /> Seals does not want the department to buy the cheapest just to buy the cheapest. If Midwest Fire or <br /> McQueen give a longer life on the machine, she thinks they should look at that,also. <br /> Crosby asked about the chassis they are providing. <br /> Chief Van Eyll replied it is a Ford F-350 Crew Cab Super Single from Fire Safety U.S.A. Spencer and <br /> Midwest are also Fords;he does not know exactly what McQueen's was. He was very impressed with <br /> Fire Safety U.S.A./CET when they came out with a demo truck and displayed much better in person than <br /> online. He would not be here asking for that truck if he did not feel it was a good fit for the Fire <br /> Department for the future. <br /> Crosby asked if it will have extrication tools on it. <br /> Chief Van Eyll stated it will have extrication tools,which were purchased with the money saved the <br /> previous year when his salary was allocated through the CARES Act for Covid-type things.Those tools <br /> will be moved onto this vehicle. <br /> Walsh said they have a lot of discussions going on with Long Lake right now and probably need a few <br /> more discussions to understand moving pieces going forward and who is doing what. He asked what this <br /> purchase is replacing or adding to. <br /> Chief Van Eyll said it is replacing a Utility 13 pickup that had been donated;that truck totaled out due to <br /> some airbag recall issues,tried to replace with aftermarket parts, and Chrysler came back and said no, <br /> they will buy the truck back.He clarified Station 1 has the majority of calls so they will get this new grass <br /> Page 2 of 34 <br />