Vernon introduces $3M bond for fire truck, equipment

VERNON — The Vernon Township Council is moving ahead with an ordinance to issue nearly $3 million in bonds to pay for a new ladder truck and gear for the fire department, as well as a number of other capital improvements around town.
Approved on first reading Monday night, Ordinance 17-09 calls for the township to issue $2.95 million in bonds to help fund capital appropriations totaling $3,636,5000. Those expenditures include around $1 million for a new ladder fire truck, $746,000 for new self-contained breathing apparatus for the fire department, and $732,000 for new vehicles for the Department of Public Works, Police Department and Buildings Department. An additional $528,000 will go to repaving Maple Grange Road and Barry Drive.
The measure amounted to a revised version of Ordinance 17-08, which was tabled at the last council meeting amid concerns about spending on unnecessary items. The original ordinance called for a total of $3,009,000 in bonds to funs appropriations totaling $3,775,500, which figures out to a difference of $139,000 in appropriations between the two measures.
While they were the most expensive items on the appropriations list, the council noted the need for the new fire truck and equipment was never in question.
McAfee Fire Department Chief Ken Clark at Monday's meeting pointed out the department is currently using a 29-year-old ladder truck. With such an old vehicle, Clark said parts are increasingly difficult to find. That's part of the reason the apparatus has been functioning without a working engine brake since November, he said. The engine brake is used as a supplement to the foot brakes to help slow the heavy truck when it makes its way downhill.
The fire department was also pushing for – and under the ordinance will receive – funding for new air packs for in-building rescues. Clark noted the department was on an OSHA deadline to replace its current equipment.
Clark expressed gratitude to the council for moving the funding measure forward. Without the new truck and breathing packs the department would have been reduced to having to stand on lawns watching houses burn, he said.
With the passage of Ordinance 17-09, Council President Jean Murphy said Ordinance 17-08 will be left to expire. The former measure will go up for a second reading and public hearing on June 26.