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Home My WebLink About1A - Replacement of Ladder Truck for the Lake Johanna Fire Dept. ~ ~HlLLS Request for Council Action Work Session Item Prepared By: Greg Hoag Council Meeting Date: June 16, 2008 Replacement of ladder Truck for lake Johanna Fire Department Budgeted Amount: $675,000 ($189,000 Arden Hills) Actual Amount: $580,000 ($162,400 Arden Hills) Funding Source: Public Safety Capital Background: The lake Johanna Fire Department has budgeted for the replacement of Ladder 3 in the 2010 Capital Budget for the Fire Department. An opportunity has become available for the Department to purchase a Demo truck as the replacement for Ladder 3. Chief Boehlke has requested Work Session time with each of the three Cities that the Department serves to discuss the feasibility of further exploring the purchase of a Demo Truck at this time. The Fire Department has also been exploring different financing options for this purchase, Chief Bohelke will be present at the Work Session to discuss and answer questions relating to this request. From a cash flow standpoint, the Public Safety Capital account does have sufficient funds to enable the early purchase. ParticuiarJy with the three-year payment plan. Supporting Documents: 1. Memorandum dated June 2, 2008 from Fire Chief, Tim Boehlke and Shoreview City Manager, Terry Schwerm Regarding Replacement of ladder Truck and Financing Options Spreadsheet 2. Pictures of Proposed Truck TO: CITY COUNCILS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM: TIM BOEHLKE, FIRE CHIEF TERRY SCHWERM, CITY MANAGER DATE: JUNE 2, 2008 SUBJECT: REPLACEMENT OF LADDER TRUCK INTRODUCTION The Lake Johanna Fire Department's adopted Capital Improvement Program anticipates the replacement of the 50-foot telesquirt ladder truck in 2010. The Department currently has an opportunity to acquire a demonstration ladder truck that would meet the Department's needs. The acquisition of this major piece of apparatus now could save the three cities a significant amount of money and the Department is seeking authorization to proceed with this planned purchase at this time. BACKGROUND The current 50-foot telesquirt ladder truck is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment that the Department uses in fighting fires. The primary reason this unit is used so heavily is that in addition to the 50-foot ladder, it also has elevated master stream capability (ability to pump heavy volumes of water at higher elevations). This is particularly useful in fighting residential fires. After the recent acquisition of the new Engine 3, a representative from General Safety indicated that they have a demonstration ladder truck available with an asking price of $565,000. The current cost in the Capital Improvement Program for replacing the telesquirt ladder truck is $675,000. According to representatives from General Safety, the cost of this equipment is expected to increase between $30,000-$40,000 in the next two years due to additional safety requirements from the National Fire Protection Association and new emission standards from the Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore, it is now anticipated that the cost of the ladder truck will be at least $725,000 by 2010. In reviewing the needs of the Department, the Chief and other department officers determined the new ladder truck needs to operate similar to a front line fire engine. Ideally, the Department would like a new truck to carry the same equipment as an engine, carry a significant amount of water, and have the elevated master stream capability. They would like the truck to have a box boom design, which allows for these capabilities. As a result of this design, the Department is able to access a residential roof or use the aerial master stream to efficiently deliver water to a fire. The Lake Johanna Fire Department already has a large 100- foot aerial platform truck. These more traditional aerial trucks are typically more expensive than the type of ladder truck the Department is scheduled to replace in 2010. The Department has researched whether there are other similar demonstration trucks available. Based on this research, it was discovered that there are several standard aerial demonstration trucks that are available from manufacturers such as Pierce, American LaFrance, and Rosenbauer (General Safety). However, the only demonstration ladder truck that is available with the box boom design is the unit that is being considered from General Safety. At the last Fire Board of Directors meeting, Board member McClung indicated that a similar 68-foot truck manufactured by Rosenbauer had sold recently for about $515,000 to a Fenton, Missouri department. In researching this truck, the Department learned that the Fenton, MO ladder truck was made by Central States, which uses a 1/8 inch formed aluminum body, which has a five-year warranty. General Safety, located in Wyoming, Minnesota built the demonstration truck and they use a ~ inch extruded aluminum body, which has a 20-year warranty. In addition, the demonstration truck includes a larger water tank, electric valves, foam system, various camera monitors, rescue winch, and several other features that were not included in the Fenton, MO ladder truck. These additional features, combined with the sturdier body construction, account for the increased cost of the demonstration unit. General Safety was initially asking $565,000 for the demonstration unit. General Safety also provided several financing options for the cities anticipating a $565,000 purchase price. In reviewing these options, we selected the three-year payment option at a 3.45% interest rate since it did not have a down payment, pays off the truck before the Fire Department's next large equipment purchase, and maximizes the savings to the three cities. Based on this option and a total cost of $565,000, there would be a total savings of about $118,000 (assuming a $725,000 acquisition cost in 2010) if the demonstration truck is purchased. This is based on the current cost breakdown of 58.5% for Shoreview, 28% for Arden Hills, and 13.5% for North Oaks. Shoreview would save about $70,000, Arden Hills about $33,000 and North Oaks nearly $16,000. Although it would require a payment in 2009, which is currently not anticipated, the proposed financing does spread the payments over the next three years, rather than one large payment in 2010. Several of the members of the Lake Johanna Fire Department had an opportunity to use the demonstration truck. Based on their review, they concluded that the 68-foot ladder truck would meet the Department's needs. However, they did identify a number of modifications that would be necessary for the ladder unit to be more functional for the Lake Johanna Department. In pricing out these modifications with representatives from General Safety, it was estimated that the value of the changes was approximately $40,000. After receiving this estimate, the Chief further negotiated the purchase price of the truck, including the required changes, with representatives from General Safety. Through this negotiation, a $580,000 total purchase price was agreed upon. This price includes the cost of the vehicle and the necessary modifications identified by the Department staff. It is suggested that the $15,000 increase above the original $565,000 cost be paid from the Department's general fund. If this 68-foot ladder truck is purchased, it will likely be located at Station No.4 on Victoria Street and County Road E. This is the station that the duty crew operates from and they respond to all the weekday calls (40% of the total calls). Station No.4 responds to roughly 58% of all the fire calls. Since this ladder truck is designed to function like an engine, but has the elevated master stream capability, the Department wanted to ensure that this vehicle would be responding to the maximum number of calls. The fire department would then likely move some of the existing fire trucks to other stations. Based on the substantial cost savings that can be achieved through purchasing a demonstration truck, we believe the Board and cities should consider the acquisition of this 68- foot ladder truck at the present time. 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