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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 />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 2 of 34 <br /> <br />FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT <br />13. FIRE DEPARTMENT UTILITY VEHICLE REQUEST <br />Fire Chief James Van Eyll 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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <br />Crosby asked about the chassis they are providing. <br /> <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 /> <br />Crosby asked if it will have extrication tools on it. <br /> <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 /> <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 /> <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