LAKE PLACID - Wanted: a new aerial truck for the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department.
The Lake Placid village Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday night to go out to bid for a new aerial truck. The current truck, which has been in use for 28 years, has excessive corrosion on its torque box, according to Jaques. The department needs an aerial mechanism with capacity of up to 100 feet because of taller buildings in the village like the Northwoods Inn.
Trustee Zay Curtis has worked closely with Head Fire Driver Brad Jaques to put together a request for proposals for a new, 100-foot aerial platform.
Trustees declined to discuss the target price for the new truck. Officials said last year a new aerial truck could cost between $800,000 and $1 million.
"I don't want to really say out loud the possible purchase price of this truck; we've all talked about it," Curtis said. "I'm not trying to avoid the public. I'm trying to avoid those that are going to bid getting an idea of how much they think we're willing to pay."
Mayor Craig Randall said he thinks that's reasonable.
"This (bid) has been put together strictly for example," he said.
In its request for proposals, the village had to pinpoint a number in order to give a scenario for how the truck would be financed.
Curtis said the village's reserve account for the fire department has about $212,000 in it. That money, he said, won't be used for the new aerial truck.
"We're not talking about touching the fire fund reserve account at all," Curtis said. According to Curtis, the village will use money previously budgeted for payments on a rescue truck that has since been paid off to pay for the lease on the aerial.
"We're talking about paying for the new truck out of money that we're already spending, no additional new money, and still being able to add to the reserve fund but not at a great a rate as we were," he said.
Trustees heaped praise on Jaques for the work he did on putting together the bid package.
"He did a meticulous job," Randall said.