Fire staff asked the Lake Elmo City Council on July 8 to move the scheduled ladder truck purchase forward five years to address operational limits of the current 78-foot apparatus and to prepare for taller apartment buildings and development.

"What I'm proposing this year is to move that purchase up 5 years, for and anticipate delivery in 2029," Dustin said. He told council the city's current ladder truck (delivered 2014) falls short of the reach now needed in some new developments and that shifting the purchase would allow staff to start the lengthy specification and build process sooner.

Dustin described trade-offs: a longer truck offers improved reach, rescue and pump capacity, but it also requires a multi-year specification and build timeline. He estimated the price range for such an apparatus could vary widely depending on configuration. "You could go anywhere between, you know, 1.9 and almost 2,300,000 depending on ... the ultimate makeup of that truck," Dustin said.

Council asked how advancing the purchase would affect the vehicle replacement fund and whether the city would rely on interfund loans. Handler said the vehicle replacement fund could be under strain and that staff included a modeled interfund loan that would be repaid over ten years; the general fund is one potential loan source. Councilors pressed for prioritization data (mileage/hours, condition) to minimize loans.

Staff asked for directional consent to keep the ladder truck in the proposed 2029 slot in the draft CIP so they can begin detailed specifications and procurement planning ahead of the December adoption.