(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

City council

City looks at purchasing new pumper truck through joint-tender process

Feb 27, 2024 | 2:37 PM

The City of North Battleford is looking at purchasing a new pumper truck for the fire department for delivery in 2026, when the existing pumper truck is projected to hit the end of its service life.

Council approved administration’s resolution to authorize the fire chief to prepare a joint tender with the City of Swift Current for quotations for the new pumper truck.

Fire Chief and Director of Protective Services Lindsay Holm noted in his presentation to council Monday, the city would be able to see savings by pursuing a joint tender process with the City of Swift Current, which is also looking to replace its truck.

“The projected cost for that same truck now is at [around] $1.2 million,” he added. “The costs of these are going up, and a lot of it is installation costs.”

The city also pursued a joint tender with Swift Current a number of years ago when purchasing their aerial trucks, to realize a cost savings for each municipality.

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“I hope going through this process we’ll be able to recognize a maximum cost savings,” Holm added. “It’s something that I think if we can approve to try and save some money,” Holm said.

He added the delivery times on pumper trucks are anywhere from 800 days to four years, so the purchase needs to be planned ahead.

“This process is going to be over a good period of time in getting to build this truck,” the fire chief said. “Any purchase would have to come back to council to approve.”

Finance Director Margarita Pena noted the city has about $950,000 within its reserves. The truck is scheduled to be purchased in 2026.

“If we were going to order it this year, we would still be not getting the final delivery until 2026. Once it’s ordered, there will be a down-payment,” she said. “Later on after the when the chassis is made, there will be a second payment, and a third payment will be upon delivery. So we should be on target.”

City Manager Randy Patrick related that during the budget process the city determined it would plan to purchase the new truck towards the end of this year, unless it found an opportunity to save some money by ordering with someone else.

“This is the opportunity,” he said. “That’s why it’s going through right now. It could wait six months but not much longer than that. So we’ve got an opportunity to maybe save a few dollars and that’s why we’re asking for it now.”

Holm noted the City of Swift Current is ordering its new fire truck at the same time as the City of North Battleford.

Mayor David Gillan related the timing is good.

“[The city] will work in tandem with Swift Current, [according to the resolution]… It will still come back to council for final approval,” he said.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow