02-27-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 9, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 12 Benson asked if this has been in the works for a while, regardless of the negotiation we have with Long Lake. Edwards said the idea of having a ladder truck to serve our area as part of the Long Lake Fire Department has been on the capital improvement plan for a number of years. It's moved around on the timeline of that capital improvement plan moving forward in recent years. The other factor us the existing engines are nearing their end of life and so are on the replacement schedule. This vehicle could become one of those engines to replace the ones that are aging out. Benson asked if this ladder truck issue is part of the negotiations with Long Lake or if it is something we have been working on as partners or as customers for some time. Van Eyll said when he was chief of Long Lake Fire Department, they had a ladder truck on the capital improvements plan but it was moved around from time to time to be able to satisfy the limited capital funding. In the Future Fire Service meetings, they found out both Wayzata and Maple Plain fire departments were talking about possible replacement of their apparatus and how much they were thinking about charging other surrounding cities to share this equipment. That led to a discussion of is there a way to better utilize those funds and actually own this equipment. Long Lake’s two engines are running at about 20 years. A typical engine you want to keep it about 20 years. The last one we bought in 2017 was $475,000 and now they are close to $1 million apiece. Benson said she doesn’t argue at all that it makes perfect sense to look at rehabbing something instead of purchasing something new. She asked to be reminded when this truck was purchased. Edwards said in November or December. Benson asked if the expense for the truck was budgeted in 2022. Edwards said no, the truck was in the capital improvements plan and the opportunity to purchase presented itself and so the direction was to purchase it. Benson asked if the improvements were budgeted for this year. Edwards said the costs were added to the 2023 Fire CIP once the city knew it had the truck. Dave Pierson, Webber Hills Road said he doesn’t question the value of the truck but does question the process. He said residents just found out at this meeting what it will cost to refurbish the ladder truck -- almost $200,000 on the refurbishing and about $347,000 on the truck itself. To spend $500,000 on this even though it is a good deal, he said, the process seems odd because no one in the community knows what is going on. You've decided to buy this truck, for $500,000, right or wrong. But we as a community have no idea as to why it has to be done, what you just answered somewhat, and then what the cost is going to be and what the alternatives are. He added that it seems to him there ought to be a way to include us [the voters] in what the council is doing. He asked if this was allowed in the contract with Long Lake and it the engine can go into the fire station. He added that Orono has indicated it wants to get out of the deal with Long Lake by 2025 and asked if it is possible the city won’t be able to use the new ladder truck until 2025.