Whiteland council reviews options to replace ladder and engine; reimbursement resolution approved

Whiteland — The Whiteland Town Council heard detailed proposals on replacing aging fire apparatus and funding fixes to existing equipment, including three financing options that would cover a new ladder truck, a new engine and related vehicles and equipment.

The discussion was led by Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser and fiscal advisers from the town’s finance team, who described an immediate breakdown of the department’s 23-year-old ladder truck and a separate need to replace an aged engine. Chief Funkhouser said the ladder “has gone out of service completely,” and that repairs now estimated at about $90,000 would not be prudent given the truck’s condition. He and town advisers described a used “demo” ladder truck offered at a discounted price of about $2.3 million and a new engine and related outfitting that together would cost in the low millions depending on the package selected.

Why it matters: the fire protection district is funded through its own property-tax rate and cumulative capital fund; purchases and debt service would be paid from those fire-district funds and not the town general fund. Council members were weighing how to prioritize limited capital capacity for an aging ladder, a failing engine and replacement staff vehicles while keeping the district within statutory debt limits.

Advisers presented three broad funding approaches: (1) a bond limited to the engine only; (2) a larger bond that would include the engine plus repairs and related equipment and leave the ladder for later; and (3) a combined approach using the bond capacity primarily for a ladder purchase and lease financing for the engine so both could be acquired in a single program. Adam Stone, a financial adviser working with the town, summed up the choice as “really more of a matter of prioritization for the town.”

Chief Funkhouser and advisers warned that delay could jeopardize an option agreement for the engine manufacturer; the town has a contractual window (about 100–120 days) to close on an engine purchase without risking forfeiture of the deposit. The council discussed trade-offs including close-term cash preservation, bonding closing costs that are relatively fixed, and the effect of anticipated assessed-value growth in the district.

Council action: the council adopted a reimbursement resolution to protect the town’s ability to spend project funds now and reimburse them later from bond proceeds; the vote on the resolution passed 5–0. The council also approved an engagement letter with bond counsel (vote 5–0) to permit preparation of formal bond documents while the council continued to weigh final package choices.

Discussion vs. decision: council members did not settle on a final combination of apparatus to buy at the meeting; instead they directed staff to proceed with bond-document drafting and to return with final figures at the next meeting so the town could meet the manufacturer’s deadline if it so chose. Chief Funkhouser said repairs currently being performed on the older engine (engine 71) would proceed immediately and asked for a not-to-exceed authorization for those repairs (see actions below).

Background and technical details: Chief Funkhouser said the ladder truck repairs (bushing and motor work) were estimated at roughly $90,000 (about $70,000 for bushing/crane work and $20,000 for motor work). The demo ladder truck offered to the town was described as a 100-foot Pierce platform with demo miles; the seller’s list price exceeded the discounted sale price by roughly $300,000. Financing scenarios in the memo showed different tax-rate and levy impacts depending on the amount and term of debt chosen; advisers noted that assessed value in the fire district has been growing and that those growth trends could reduce net levy impact over time.

What’s next: the council approved the procedural steps that keep financing options open (reimbursement resolution and bond counsel engagement). Members said they wanted 30 days to review the options and come back with a policy-prioritization decision at the next meeting rather than lock in a single, large package immediately.

Ending: Council members reiterated public-safety priorities while asking staff for clearer cost comparisons and timelines. Chief Funkhouser said he favored a combined solution that would secure a dependable ladder truck, but the council deferred the final funding decision until the next meeting so members could review the written options and cost impacts in detail.