At the February 5th, 2024 Select Board meeting, John Dixson presented this timeline of events, describing the recent emergency vehicle procurement process:
Emergency Response Vehicle Procurement Timeline of Events
The following description is a timeline of events beginning in 2021 that were involved in the procurement, by the Town of Barre MA, of emergency response vehicles for the fire department including:
- One Engine Tanker
- One Ambulance
- One Tanker
| December 2021 | Chief Rogowski submitted a grant request for $675,000 for an Engine Tanker | This grant was applied for by the town regularly each year for several years and had been rejected each prior time. |
| June 14, 2022 Annual Town Meeting | Town Residents Appropriated funds for a new Fire Truck (Engine Tanker) ($700,000) to replace Engine 5 and a new Ambulance ($305,000) | is noted that at this meeting Chief Rogowski states that if the grant request is awarded to Barre it could be put toward this vehicle. |
| Sept. 8, 2022 | A modified version of the grant was awarded to Barre for $476,190.47 for a Tanker | The town had 30 days from this date to accept the grant or it would, by default, be rejected by the town. |
| Sept. 19, 2022 Select Board Meeting | At this meeting the Select Board recommended that the grand be used to purchase a separate Tanker truck instead of modifying the Engine Tanker that was appropriated for the 2022 Annual Town Meeting to meet the new requirements of the grant | The change in requirements for the grant that was awarded lead to 3 options. Descriptions of each option are adjacent to this table. See additional considerations and opinions leading to this decision below. |
| Sept. 20, 2022 | The grant for aTanker was accepted by the Town of Bare by Chief Rogowski | Past practice for the town of Barre has been to allow department heads to accept grants awarded to their department. Changes to this practice are under consideration. |
| Sept. 29, 2022 | The purchase agreement for the Engine Tanker and Ambulance appropriated 2022 ATM and the Tanker funded by the grant were signed by the town administrator Jessica Sizer | The Town of Barre has an appointed procurement officer for large purchases, this is typically the Town Administrator |
| April 25, 2023 Special town Meeting | New Town Council required the Engine Tanker and Ambulance approved at the 2022 ATM to be re-approved with modified language before approving lease agreement. | This was primarily considered procedural and did not modify what was being purchased. It should be noted that the Town will own the vehicles at the end of the lease. |
| June 20, 2023 Select Board Meeting | The Select Board received lease terms and designated Maureen Marshal to represent the board. | The lease terms were for 7 years with a first payment due 6/1/2025 |
| Aug. 21, 2023 Select Board Meeting | Lease Agreement Language was updated pre request of legal counsel. | This updated lease agreement included a minor decrease in the annual payments (-$36 per year) |
Additional Benefits of Options 2:
Additional financial benefits not included in the $470,00 value of the grant for option 2 include the following:
- Reduced maintenance costs as the Engine 1 replacement (as a significantly newer vehicle maintenance costs would be reduced)
- Elimination of maintenance costs for the existing tanker (this vehicle would be removed from service)
- Reduced cost of vehicle by purchasing prior to changes in regulations that would add a minimum of $20,000 to any future purchases.
- Anticipated reduced cost by purchasing prior to further increases caused by inflation.
- Potential return on current value of Engine 1 when sold. (This anticipated value is not disclosed at this time to protect the town's interests with regard to the possibility of negotiations involved in the sale of the vehicle).
Other non-financial benefits are included as part of the Opinion section below as they are not calculable as facts.
Town Match
The town match for the grant is a function of the value of the grant and the cost of the equipment acquired. The grant requirements set a minimum cost of $500,000 for the equipment.
- Under Option 1the value of the Tanker Engine would greatly exceed the $500,000 minimum requirement and the appropriated funds would cover the remainder.
- Under Option 2 the value of the Tanker would need to be a minimum of $500,000 and any amount over $470,000 would need to be applied to the cost of the vehicle by the town. Options considered to fund this were:
- Utilizing proceeds from a sale of Engine 1
- Utilizing ARPA funds (this has since been ruled out as an option)
- Requesting an appropriation for the funds at a Town Meeting
Opinion
The following are the opinions of Selectman John D. Dixson and may not reflect the opinions of the Select Board as a whole.
Regarding the need for an additional vehicle - The need for emergency response vehicles in Barre particularly in South Barre is an underlying issue that has been exasperated over the last several decades through a lack of sufficient investment by the town. Engine 5 was built 35 years ago the Tanker 40 years ago and Engine 1 a vehicle that does have some value left which can be used toward the new truck purchases was purchased as a used truck in 2016 but is 2 years old, While Engine 1 has been of great service to the town it was not designed for the needs of Barre and as with most used fire trucks it is best