Medina votes to buy new ladder truck for $1.7 million

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina ladder truck from 1996 is shown in March when the fire department had an open house showing the tight quarters at the fire hall, especially for the ladder truck which only has 2 inches of clearance in pulling in and out of the fire hall.

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department will be getting a new ladder fire truck, but it might be another 2 ½ years before the truck is in service.

The Village Board voted on Monday evening to accept the bid for $1,698,995 from Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisc. To build the new fire truck with a 100-foot-long ladder.

The truck will replace a 27-year-old ladder truck with a 75-foot ladder. The new truck will have a 300-gallon tank, which is less than the 400 gallons on the current truck. That will make more space on the truck for cabinets and also for the longer ladder.

The current truck from 1996 has “continuous mechanical problems” and is sometimes out of service or unreliable, said Fire Chief Matt Jackson.

He said the lead time for receiving the new truck is about 27 to 30 months. The new truck could be ready around Christmas 2025, he told the Village Board.

The bid is about $100,000 less than the $1.8 million estimate. The board in April authorized a bond resolution for up to $1,990,000 towards the cost of a new ladder truck.

Medina officials will be pursuing grants and low-interest financing that should result in a smaller bond.

The new ladder truck is too big to fit in the current fire hall. The Village Board is planning for an addition on the fire hall to accommodate the larger truck.

The Barton & Loguidice firm has proposed an addition to the fire hall that would be approximately 62 feet, 8 inches by 88 feet, 8 inches. That expansion, plus repairs to the existing fire hall, would be about $4.5 million, according to a report from the Barton & Loguidice.