Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Onalaska approves increased equipment allocation and awards $1.12 million pumper‑tender; fire chief outlines rising call volume
Summary
The council approved a budget amendment to fully fund a pumper‑tender purchase and awarded the bid to Reliant Fire Apparatus Inc. The fire chief also described a 39% five‑year rise in call volume and a recent memorandum of understanding on mutual fire‑investigator assistance with a neighboring department.
The Onalaska Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday to increase the 2025 equipment replacement allocation to cover the full purchase price of a pumper‑tender fire apparatus and to award the vehicle bid. The council also heard an informational update about a memorandum of understanding to share fire‑investigation resources with a neighboring department and received the Onalaska Fire Department’s annual report.
Councilors approved Resolution 12‑22025 to increase the equipment replacement budget for the 2025 pumper‑tender from the originally budgeted $500,000 to the full contract price of $1,119,921. The motion to approve the resolution was made on the floor and passed unanimously. Fire Department staff explained the purchase leaves a funding shortfall of $619,009.21 to be covered from the equipment replacement fund and noted a 100% performance bond option in the bid documents to protect the city while the truck is manufactured and delivered.
The council subsequently awarded the apparatus bid to Reliant Fire Apparatus Inc. in the amount of $1,119,921. That award passed on a separate motion and vote with no opposition.
Fire Department leadership also summarized a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the neighboring Holman Fire Department (presented for information only). Presenters said Wisconsin statute requires an investigation for any fire with more than $500 in loss; the MOU allows trained investigators from each department to assist the other, share equipment and software, and improves coverage when investigators are unavailable. The chief said the agreement is intended primarily as a personnel and cost‑savings measure; councilors asked clarifying questions about on‑scene investigation timing and securing scenes until investigators arrive.
Chiefs and staff also presented the department’s annual report for 2024, noting a fifth consecutive year of record call volume: 2,227 incidents in 2024, a 39% increase over five years. Staff highlighted more than 8,000 hours of training, 1,500 fire inspections with 836 violations noted and 742 corrected (an 88.7% correction rate), and continued internal hose and ladder testing. Mayor Kim Smith and councilors thanked staff for the report; the council moved to accept the report and place it on file.
Councilors discussed the budget fund balance and the need to rebuild the equipment replacement fund in coming years given large capital needs, including another fire apparatus anticipated in the near term. Presenters said permitting and other administrative items related to equipment acquisition and warranties were in order and that the city would use contractual protections in the purchase documents.
