Rolfe council approves motion to pursue fire truck purchase, seek grants and low‑interest loans

The Rolfe City Council voted to move forward with purchasing a new fire truck while pursuing grant funding and low‑interest loans, but conditioned the action on not making any down payment until pending grant applications are decided.

Mayor Stephanie Sindt said she had sent the purchase proposal to the city attorney for review and noted that Corn Belt Power and Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative offer low‑interest financing for municipal purchases. Officials estimated the city’s share of the vehicle could be financed at about $200,000 over 10 years at roughly 3 percent, and council members agreed to schedule meetings with the lenders to gather more details.

Councilmember Aaron Cox urged caution, saying he wanted to wait for the outcome of the grants the city has applied for and warned that putting money down could disqualify the city from those opportunities. "No money can be put down towards the truck or the City becomes disqualified from those grant opportunities," Cox said, according to the meeting record.

A Pratt/Jackson motion to approve purchase and pursue grants and loans, with the explicit condition that no down payment be made until grant decisions are known, passed on roll call: Lana Pratt, Aaron Cox, Tammy Shimon and Rob Jackson voted aye; Brent Stewart abstained. The motion carried.

Next steps identified at the meeting included further review by the city attorney and outreach to Corn Belt Power and Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative to clarify loan terms and scheduling for financing discussions.