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Fire District plans
cash purchase of one new truck; 19 June 2007
Like its neighboring towns, Caledonia is fortunate to have a dedicated volunteer fire department protecting its citizens and property. Caledonia Fire Department has been there for the people of the community for more than 70 years. Now the Caledonia Fire District Board of Commissioners hopes the people in the fire district will be there for the fire department as they put before the eligible voters, a resolution to sell two existing fire trucks and purchase two new ones. Voters will be asked to approve the proposals on June 19, 2007 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Caledonia Town Hall, 3109 Main Street. The fire district commissioners passed a resolution at their May 2007 meeting to purchase a new pumper/tanker and a rescue truck. A second resolution calls for the sale of two existing pieces of fire equipment – a 1993 Pierce pumper/rescue and a 1987 Freightliner tanker, the proceeds from those sales will be returned to the reserve fund for future equipment purchases. This marks the first large purchase for the Fire Department since its last truck purchase in 1995. Fire Commissioner Chair, James Dutton, said this proposed action is in response to a shortage of available active firemen during the daytime hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It generally takes two trucks and two separate crews to answer a fire call, Dutton explained because of current National Fire Protection Agency regulations mandating that specific rescue equipment must be on board the truck for a fire call. The proposed new pumper/tanker with a 1,500 gallon per minute pump and a 2,500 gallon tank capacity will replace both the 1993 Pierce pumper/rescue and the 1987 Freightliner tanker, the two trucks the district will put up for sale if voters approve the resolutions. "The proposed new pumper tanker can roll to any fire in this district by itself with an eight-man crew. This buys response time, that with just one crew and one truck, we can respond to a fire call," Dutton explained. It also keeps the crew and other rescue and pumper trucks in service at the fire hall if needed for mutual aid, he added. The new pumper/tanker comes with a $580,000 price tag, which the commissioners have been planning for nearly 15 years. They plan to purchase the pumper/tanker with cash from the district’s reserve accounts. There will be no increase to taxpayers for this purchase. Dutton calls this careful and fiscally sound planning and says that as of October 2007, the fire district will be debt free on its existing line of fire fighting equipment. A second proposed purchase is for a new rescue truck to replace the rescue capabilities of both the 1993 and 1996 pumper/rescues. The estimated cost of the rescue truck is $350,000. The district plans to bond this amount over ten years costing taxpayers about 16 cents per thousand of assessed property value for the duration of the bond. On a home assessed at $100,000, taxpayers would see an increase of $16 a year or about $1.33 a month. The commissioners will hold a public information meeting on Wednesday, June 13 from 7 -7:30 p.m. at the Caledonia Town Hall in conjunction with their regular monthly meeting. Voting will take place on June 19 at the Caledonia Town Hall from 6 to 9 p.m. Voters will be asked to decide just once, Yes or No, to the three part resolution (only one vote) that includes:
More information about this upcoming information meeting and vote can be found on the Caledonia Fire District’s website at www.caledoniafiredistrict.org
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