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Washington council approves equipment purchases, development agreements and financing for fire trucks
Summary
The Washington City Council on Nov. 17 approved multiple ordinances authorizing purchases for the fire department, easement and development agreements, and a PNC Bank lease-purchase for two fire pumpers; staff also reported plans to place a transportation sales-tax measure on the April 2026 ballot and tabled two park items pending a DNR rebid.
The Washington, Missouri City Council on Nov. 17 approved a package of ordinances authorizing equipment purchases, property easements and a lease-purchase intended to finance two new fire pumpers.
The council approved an ordinance to buy an access-control system from Elliott Data Systems Inc. for the Fire Department, with $28,000 budgeted for access control across multiple stations and $17,884.18 earmarked for the headquarters portion that includes ADA door corrections. A department representative told the council the budget is around $26,000 this year and that the headquarters piece would address an ADA door that “doesn’t latch well” and has been problematic.
Separately, the council approved purchase of thermal-imaging cameras and accessories for the Fire Department. The department said it has budgeted $62,000 and asked to authorize up to $60,000 of spending now for a 10-camera package after an internal two- to three-year review and field testing of candidate units.
On financing, the council approved a master lease-purchase agreement with PNC Bank National Association to fund two pumpers previously approved at an earlier meeting. The lease is a 12-year agreement with two initial years of interest-only payments followed by 10 principal-and-interest payments at a stated rate of 4.81 percent. Staff said using PNC would realize prepayment discounts of roughly $178,000. City staff said local banks were unable to match the term and rate.
Council also approved routine professional-service and infrastructure items: a semiannual groundwater monitoring contract with SCS Engineers; easement agreements with a private owner at 430 West Front Street LLC and with Union Electric Co., doing business as Ameren Missouri, to allow a transformer; and a development agreement with Bush Creek Farms LLC for construction of a roughly 900-foot extension of High Street. In that development agreement staff said the city will pay approximately $300,000 in the current budget year toward a roughly $400,000 construction cost, with remaining payments next year.
Council approved an amendment to the development plan for the Shoals 2 Industrial Park to enable sale of a tract to Bluff Road LLC and related steps, and it accepted the final plat of the Highlands Plat 1 after staff certified that public infrastructure was installed and inspected and that a 20 percent maintenance bond accompanies a listed $184,000 value.
Several ordinances were enacted by roll or voice vote with no recorded roll-call tallies in the packeted discussion; each was introduced, discussed briefly when needed, and approved. Two items related to a park project and a DNR grant (items 7a and 7k) were tabled while staff remediates an advertising/notice issue with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The council ended the business portion of the meeting by voting to hold a closed session to discuss personnel, legal and real-estate matters under RSMo. §610.021.
By council action and staff direction, the next steps are for staff to finalize procurement tasks, execute the PNC lease documents, and bring any required easement and final-plat documents back for ministerial execution and recording.
