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Port Richey fire chief seeks purpose‑built rescue boat and updated PPE; council debates timing
Summary
The fire chief presented a multi‑year plan calling for a purpose‑built rescue boat (estimated $105,000), new bunker gear (PFAS‑free) and water‑rescue equipment; councilors acknowledged operational need but flagged budget timing and alternative funding paths.
Port Richey Fire Department leaders presented council with a multi‑year capital plan that includes a purpose‑built rescue boat, replacement bunker gear and other water‑rescue equipment. Chief Thomas (presenting on behalf of the department) described operational limits of the city’s existing shared boat — including lack of a hydraulic jack plate, constrained patient‑retrieval capacity and limited space for rescue stretchers — and asked the council to authorize purchase of a rescue boat that the department estimated would cost about $105,000. The presentation emphasized that the proposed vessel would be designed for victim retrieval, patient stabilization and deployment of fire pumps over the side. The chief and other fire officials also asked for replacement personal protective equipment (bunker gear) to comply with Florida House Bill 929 (noted by staff as a state requirement), seeking PFAS‑free turnout gear and additional dry suits, rescue personal flotation devices and battery‑operated cutting tools. The department noted a ten‑year replacement cycle for turnout gear and argued the change to PFAS‑free products is required for compliance and firefighter safety. Council members raised funding timing questions. Finance Director Adam Thompson and other staff said the city expects an $800,000 appropriation for a fire truck but that state procedures typically require the city to take delivery and pay before reimbursement is released; staff questioned whether paying now would increase interest costs. Council discussed options including: (1) keeping the boat request in the CIP and pursuing grant or county appropriation (Pasco County appropriations); (2) using insurance proceeds or other one‑time funds; or (3) waiting until reimbursements on the fire truck flow back to the city. No appropriation was made at the workshop. Council asked staff to pursue grant and appropriations options, to review confiscated‑fund balances for possible police‑fund transfers, and to keep the boat and PFAS‑free bunker gear requests in the CIP for consideration at the upcoming budget hearings.
