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2. Fire Truck Funding Options61'1412007 TO: Mayor Pamela B. Kennedy and Kalispell City Council FROM: Randy Brodehl, Fire chief James H. Patrick, city Manager SUBJECT: Fire Ladder Truck Replacement COUNCIL MEETING DATE: June 18, 2007 BACKGROUND: The Kalispell Fire Department has a thirty year old (1978) ladder truck. It is scheduled for replacement this coming budget year, and this replacement is identified in the department's capital improvement plan. This purchase is shown in the 2007/2008 preliminary budget on page 79 and page 83. A fully functional ladder truck, known as a "Quint", can be described as having an aerial ladder, a fire pump, water tank, hose, a standard set of firefighting equipment, and carries at least 5 personnel. current NFPA standards and ISO qualifications for ladder trucks require that cities with commercial buildings that are 3 or more stories in height have aerial ladders that are at least 1 05' in height. This is to allow ladder use at an angle and to allow it to cover several areas while the appartus is parked at one location. NFPA also recommends that ladder trucks be put into reserve status after 15 years of service. Ladder trucks are most effective at commercial fires such as the Conlin Building (Now Glacier Bank), where master streams from the ladder truck were used to cut the fire off, preventing the fire from spreading to the rest of the block. This type of fire is often called a `five year fire', denoting that they are not an every day occurrence. However, they do occur, and when they do, use of a ladder truck is the most effective way prevent wholesale fire spread to other commercial buildings. Ladder trucks also carry specialized equipment that is often used during fireground operations at large or technically difficult residential fires, and special rescues. In I SC's recent reclassification of the City of Kalispell, they credited the city with 2.66 percent out of a possible 5 percent for the city's ladder truck. They noted that, `For maximum credit in the scheduler 2 ladder companies are needed in your city." The ladder truck also lost some credit due to, "insufficient length, as it only has an 85' aerial ladder, instead of the current minimum of 105'. The current ladder truck, has served the city well. However, at 30 years old, it is seeing a great deal of repairs. Over the past 10 years, cost for repairs was $30,009.07. These costs continue to rise, as ► ould be expected from a piece of appartus that is this age. 1t is the intention of this request to keep the existing 30 year old ladder truck fully functional, but in reserve status for use only on large commercial fires and when the new ladder truck is out of service during maintenance. With minimum use, it is possible that this ladder truck could be Kept in reserve for at least five more years. FISCAL IMPACTS: This request is for the purchase of a 105' ladder truck, with all necessary operations equipment. Typically the cost of a new ladder truck like this is between $900,000(Chevrolet quality) and $1,250,000(Cadillac quality). We have located a demo ladder truck which will be available about March 1, 2008. It will have full warranties, and will have road time, but no fireground time. The cost of this ladder truck, with all equipment included, is $695,000. Two options were presented in the preliminary budget package. The first option was to approach the public with a ten year fire truck levy request. This could be brought before the voters in November of 2007. The annual increase in taxes for a home appraised at $150,000 would be approximately $9.70 a year, over a ten year period. The second option is to pay the full amount by using $120,000 from fire impact fees, and to borrow the remaining $575,000. These funds are identified in the preliminary budget as: e $575,000 is in the Ladder Truck fund 4150--415-420400-944 $120,000 is in the Impact Fee fund 2399-900 Current rates for a 10 year loan are 3.89% (Municipal Services Group, Inc.). At this rate, annual payments beginning in fiscal year 2008/2009 would be $69,958. Municipal Services Group, Inc. also has a 12 year loan available at a rate of 3.95%. Using this method, annual payments would be $60,629. Fire impact fees as they are generated, will be used to pay the amortization of this loan, with no impact to the general fund. Fire impact fees have been in place for six months, and these have generated approximately $160,000 to date. Impact fees are used for equipment purchases primarily due to growth. The recent reclassification by ISO identifies this impact as this is the first time that ISO has specified the need for a second ladder truck due to the increasing size of the city. RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff is recommending the second option, with a 10 year loan. The life of the ladder true is at least 15 years, so the amortization period can fit within those parameters. Respectfully submitted, a y Br 1, Fire Chief Ja H. Patrick, City Manager