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Fielding council agrees to pursue bid on used fire engine, budgets discussed
Summary
The council discussed placing a bid on a used fire engine being sold by Tremont, with fire department representatives asking to pursue the purchase and council members indicating a maximum bid figure of $20,000 and available funds for the purchase.
Fielding Town Council members discussed placing a bid on a used fire engine being sold by the Tremont fire department and directed staff and fire personnel to pursue inspection and bidding options.
Fire department representatives said the Tremont engine is larger and newer than Fielding’s current engine, would allow firefighters to ride with SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) already seated and reduce on-scene preparation time. The department reported the town’s current engine has a leak and would require a costly repair; if Fielding acquired the Tremont engine, the plan would be to transfer equipment from the old engine and make the current engine available to nearby Portage, possibly as a donation if Portage could not contribute funds.
“We would like to put a bid on that,” the fire department representative said, noting a minimum bid of $14,000 and offering to arrange inspections for council members.
Council discussion referenced the town’s available funds: council members said roughly $80,000 remained in the municipal budget, $5,400 remained unspent from a prior grant, and approximately $31,000 was available from a newer grant. One council member said a figure of $20,000 was written down as a not-to-exceed amount for a bid. Council members asked staff and the fire department to pursue details on current bidders and to schedule inspections before a final bid decision.
No formal roll-call vote to authorize a specific bid amount was recorded in the transcript; the record shows an informal consensus and direction to pursue inspection and place a competitive bid, with a maximum figure discussed at $20,000 as a planning benchmark. The fire department representative offered to coordinate appointments for council members to inspect the vehicle and said he would follow up on bid status and competing bidders.
The discussion also noted prior vehicle disposition: Fielding previously sold an older engine to Plymouth, which now stations that engine under Plymouth’s license. The council acknowledged potential additional training and equipment purchases would follow any acquisition.
