New vehicles being purchased for fire department

Amherstburg Municipal Building.

Town council has authorized the purchase of new vehicles for the Amherstburg Fire Department. 

Administration was authorized by council to sign a contract with Dependable Truck & Tank Limited in the amount of $468,248 plus HST for the purchase of two medium-duty support/rescue vehicles.

Additional funding in the amount of $118,248 plus non-recoverable HST for the purchase was also approved with funding coming from the fleet reserve and that reserve be replenished through a sale of a two used pick-up trucks.

“While this will result in an over expenditure of $118,248 + HST in the current

year, it is expected to reduce annual maintenance, insurance, and repair costs, and extend the replacement cycle from five to ten years. The vehicles will be retained in the fleet reserve and overall savings to the Corporation will offset the over expenditure. This approach will also enhance operational efficiency and optimize service delivery with a streamlined fleet of two vehicles,” fire chief Michael Mio said in his report to town council.

Councillor Peter Courtney noted there is a third vehicle in the town’s inventory now and wondered if it was also going to be sold off. Mio said they are going from three vehicles to two and fleet will retain the other. Courtney wanted to know how much money is being recouped through the sale of the used vehicles.

River Canard pump station generator

Town council has approved an over-expenditure of $26,258.48 for a new River Canard pump station generator.

According to a report from manager of environment services Dwayne Grondin, the increase results in the final cost of the project now being $226,258.48. He stated the project replaces the existing 1981 generator that is beyond its life expectancy.

Grondin wrote that council approved $140,000 in the capital budget in 2023 for the demolition of the existing generator building, removal of the old generator and components, the installation of a new outdoor generator with outdoor control panel and a new power feed. He added in 2024, council approved an additional $60,000 in the capital budget based on information received from the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA).

“During construction in 2024, an issue was found in the metering chamber dry well as there was a sump pump which was not on the original drawings. The issue was found after the panel was commissioned which required extra panel work in addition to underground conduits being run to the dry well to power the sump pump,” Grondin stated in his report. “Additionally, there were some unforeseen costs from Hydro One when running the new utility feed. The OCWA Service Fee, for the coordination of this project, was also added to the final invoice.”

New vehicles being purchased for fire department

By Ron Giofu