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Fire chief recommends accepting $35,000 offer for surplus 1999 Sutphen aerial truck
Summary
New Castle Fire Chief Colby recommended the council accept a $35,000 offer for a surplus 1999 Sutphen aerial truck, noting the vehicle needs an estimated $17,000–$20,000 in work to regain full certification and that the buyer would inspect the apparatus before completing the purchase in July.
Chief Colby told the caucus the department's 1999 Sutphen aerial (replaced in 2022) has been marketed for sale with little interest and is "sitting there basically decaying." The department received a $35,000 offer from a prospective buyer identified in the transcript as the Department of Ditch; Chief Colby recommended accepting the bid given a lack of other offers.
Colby said the truck would require roughly $17,000 to $20,000 in upkeep to be certifiable through the insurance underwriter and would also need a few thousand dollars of pump work. He described prior attempts to sell the truck via city and municipal bid systems and through public listings that had produced only anemic offers before the current $35,000 proposal.
The prospective buyers asked to inspect the truck Wednesday and, if satisfied, would place a deposit. Colby said the buyers' fiscal year resets in July and they expected to pay the balance and remove the truck then. The caucus did not hold a formal vote; Chief Colby's recommendation will be carried to the Thursday meeting for formal action.
