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Orange Beach approves budgeted capital purchases, including two fire engines with long delivery estimate
Summary
Council approved several budgeted equipment purchases—tractors, utility vehicles, a dump truck, a leaf vacuum and two fire engines. The fire chief said the engines are expected to take about 32 months to deliver; the two replaced frontline trucks will move to reserve.
The Orange Beach City Council on Jan. 6 approved a slate of budgeted capital purchases for Public Works, Coastal Resources and the Fire Department, including two new fire engines that council members discussed at length.
Resolutions adopted during the meeting authorized purchases that included: a tractor ($39,794.88); a track loader ($109,031.96); two utility vehicles for refuse operations ($43,744.26); a Kenworth dump truck ($205,000); a leaf vacuum (approximately $79,239.23) and two fire engines procured through the Houston-Galveston Area Council emergency equipment contract. Council noted these expenditures were included in the approved budget.
Fire Department leadership explained the two new engines will be identical to a prior engine the department purchased; the chief said the vehicles will not arrive quickly. "They will not be delivered for probably 32 months," the chief said, noting the purchases are a forward commitment to replace aging frontline apparatus. The chief added the two frontline trucks being replaced will move to reserve status, and older reserve trucks will be declared surplus.
City staff told the council that many capital items appear in January consent lists because departments load budgeted purchases early in the year and the items are being purchased via state procurement contracts such as Sourcewell, which the city uses for competitively awarded equipment.
Council members voiced support for equipping departments to maintain city services. The measures were presented as budgeted capital expenditures and were adopted during the meeting.
