Council nixes 2nd fire truck

by Wayne Moore CASTANET - Mar 30, 2015 / 7:01 pm
Kelowna Fire Chief Jeff Carlisle got half of what he was looking for. City council Monday said yes to adding $130,000 to the 2015 budget to fund the purchase of a new fire truck, but no to an additional $730,000 for a second truck. The additional funds for the first truck are needed to offset rising costs due to the weakening of the Canadian dollar. Purchase of the second truck, needed to replace an engine that failed a mechanical inspection, will be put over until 2016 budget deliberations in December. Carlisle said an assessment of the vehicle indicated there are challenges to get parts for the 21-year-old engine because the manufacturer is no longer in business. He said there are safety aspects, equipment reliability, equipment deficiencies and the issue of having reliable backup equipment. "It should be considered it is beyond its usefullness and should be replaced," said Carlisle. "If we delay the replacement of it, we are looking at a minimum of 18 months to two years. This vehicle would have to be maintained for the next two to three years." The engine is a backup and only goes out on calls if the main engine is on a call or in for maintenance. Purchasing the two engines together could save the city two to three per cent, Carlisle said, but it would also put the Fire Equipment Capital Reserve fund into a deficit from 2016 to 2018. Coun. Luke Stack said he understands the extra funds because of the falling dollar, but does not believe the time is right to approve the second engine. "I do think it is more appropriate that we deal with the second one in the next budget year. I think there are other thoughts we need to consider. We need to consider beefing the reserve up," said Stack, who added there are ways to manage in the short term. "Obviously, the option I would prefer is to replace both these engines, then we have equipment that is reliable and we don't have issues with parts and maintenance," said Carlisle. Of equal importance for at least one councillor was why the reserve funds have been inadequately funded. Currently, $400,000 is set aside for the fire equipment reserve, with a proposal to increase that by $100,000 in each of the next four years to a total of $800,000 a year. "Is this because councils over the years have not approved an increase, is it a lack of foresight?" asked Coun Charlie Hodge. "How have we got to the point where we've underfunded the reserve?" Deputy city manager Paul Macklem said taking money to put it in a reserve is "not a very sexy" budget item, but added the city is on the right track. Stack was more direct. "We're responsible. The last two councils could have put $100,000 a year more over the last six years, and we wouldn't have this debate here today," he said. "So we're all responsible because we haven't put enough money aside for this need, and I wear that as well. But I do think it's time, now that we're aware we're short, to start planning and we have to put our planning hats on and not just make a quick decision on the fly, which I feel we're doing today." Council voted five-three against approving funding now for the second truck, with Councillors Hodge, Tracy Gray and Brad Sieben voting against.