Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bird City seeks third 'quick-attack' fire vehicle as St. Francis shifts grant focus to SCBA
Summary
Officials said a joint fire grant originally scoped for two trucks is being restructured after St. Francis withdrew its truck request to pursue SCBA funding; Bird City plans to proceed with a reduced grant to add a third quick-attack vehicle, which raises questions about storage, budget match and interdepartmental coordination.
Fire officials briefed the board on a multijurisdictional grant process for fire vehicles and equipment. The original joint plan to apply for funding covering two quick-attack trucks (a larger $500,000 package shared across partners) has shifted after St. Francis decided to pursue self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) funding instead of a truck purchase. Bird City officials told the board they want to move forward to add a third quick-attack vehicle at a reduced grant amount (discussed in the meeting as roughly $180,000) that would require a county 20% match.
Commissioners and fire leaders discussed how the three entities (St. Francis, Bird City, and county/rural districts) currently coordinate operations: city vs. county responsibility for incident billing, shared use of equipment, and split funding for purchases like bunker gear. County Chief Dan (identified in the transcript as the county chief) and other fire leaders described plans to add a bay to the Bird City building to house the additional vehicle and to phase construction to manage costs. Officials also discussed equipment compliance work (SCBA mask updates, heads-up displays) and the need for clearer, formal coordination among the departments for grant decisions and long-term fleet planning.
One commissioner said he would not approve moving forward on a grant-funded truck purchase without evidence that Bird City had formally voted to add the bay/storage required; staff and fire leaders agreed to follow up with formal documentation of support from Bird City and to return to the commissioners with updated cost and survey work for the revised grant application.
