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Kennett City officials discuss $58,000–$60,000 quotes for firefighter breathing equipment
Summary
Officials discussed two vendor quotes for packs, masks and bottles for firefighter use, budget options including pulling funds from capital reserves, and a plan to revisit the purchase at the next meeting in two weeks.
Kennett City officials discussed purchasing new breathing equipment for firefighters after staff reported two vendor quotes totaling about $58,000 and $60,400, and said the item may need to come from capital reserves or next year’s budget.
The matter surfaced during a city meeting when a staff member said, “When I came out of budget again in February, I I got a quote from LEO, and it was on January 15. And it's $58,008.63. And I got a quote from the same company. It's the only company we can deal with. It was on 04/30/2025.” A council member asked about the higher, more recent quote and the timing for payment or budgeting.
Officials described the equipment in mixed terms during the discussion: the staff member listed quantities as “6 bottles or 6 packs, 6 max masks, and 12 bottles,” and said some components have long service-life limits: “No. They're only good every 15 years, and the pack itself is only good for 25.”
Council members and staff discussed financing options. One member said a motion was needed to pull funding “out of capital recruitment,” and others said the city typically routes such spending through the finance committee during the accounting process. Participants also raised the idea of establishing line-item reserve accounts to spread large purchases over multiple years rather than making a single large request.
Several procedural questions remained unresolved in the transcript: whether the city would buy all units in the current fiscal year, whether to split purchases over multiple years, and the lead time for delivery. A staff member said the quoted pricing had a short validity window — “that quote was good for 30 minutes” — and the vendor lead time was not specified.
Officials agreed to revisit the matter at an upcoming meeting. One participant asked, “So 1 of these airbags, will we have an answer where we will purchase them by next meeting?” and the group set a follow-up in about two weeks to attempt a purchasing decision or to identify the appropriate budget line to use.
No formal vote or final purchase decision was recorded in the transcript provided.
