3 Medina trustees would consider selling new ladder truck

Village Board not on same page for housing truck, putting it into service

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Medina Village Board met on Monday at the Shelby Town Hall and discussed several issues. Pictured from left include Trustee Deborah Padoleski, Trustee Jess Marciano, Village Clerk/Treasurer Jada Burgess, Mayor Marguerite Sherman, Trustee Mark Prawel, Trustee Scott Bieliski and Village Attorney Matt Brooks.

MEDINA – A new ladder truck for the Medina Fire Department may not find a long-term home in Medina.

Three out of five Village Board members said they are open to selling the new $1.7 million truck which is too big for the existing fire hall.

Trustee Scott Bieliski said the truck turns into a $4 million expense when financing and an addition to the fire hall are all factored in. He said village taxpayers are already overtaxed to take on the added expense.

He would like to reach out to a broker to see what the truck would command on the market and instead have Medina purchase a smaller used ladder truck that would fit in the fire hall, or go without a ladder truck and rely on one from the neighboring Shelby Volunteer Fire Company.

Village Trustee Mark Prawel said taxpayers are already too stressed to take on payments for a new ladder truck and an addition to the fire hall to house it. Trustee Scott Bieliski, right, wants the village to look at selling its new ladder truck and finding a smaller used one that would fit in the existing fire hall.

Bieliski and trustees Deborah Padoleski and Mark Prawel all want to hold off on putting the new truck into service to maximize its value. Once it’s been used by the village, the value could significantly drop.

Village Attorney Matt Brooks advised the board that having the truck in Medina and not using it could open the village to a lawsuit. It could be considered negligence to have the equipment and not use it when there is an emergency.

The truck is currently in North Tonawanda after being built in Wisconsin by Pierce Manufacturing. The truck is being outfitted with specialized gear. Fire Chief Steve Cooley this morning said Medina firefighters are planning to begin training on the new truck in Medina on Feb. 13.

The truck doesn’t have a place to stay yet. Village officials are considering the compost facility on North Gravel Road, the DPW garage on East Avenue, or a lease from a private property owner.

The truck could also be kept outside next to the fire hall but wouldn’t be able to have water in the truck in case it freezes in the cold weather.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman and Trustee Jess Marciano said they are both committed to keeping the ladder truck and want to put a one-bay addition on the fire hall that is expected to cost $1.1 to $1.4 million.

Sherman said the village should spend $4,800 with an engineering firm to get more specific costs for the addition, figures that are needed for Medina to pursue grants and financing for the project. But she has been unable to get a full majority vote from the board to pay a firm.

“It is my charge to come up with a feasible way to get the truck and the addition,” she said. “I’m doing everything I can to make it affordable for the village.”

Padoleski said selling the truck is “a last-ditch effort” to spare Medina from taking on more debt.

“The taxpayers are not interested in buying this truck,” Padoleski said. “It’s too big and too much money.  Not enough forethought was put into this.”

The annual debt payment for the truck will be about $130,000 over the next 20 years. Medina is scheduled to sign off on the financing Jan. 26 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA is giving Medina the $1,768,000 loan with a 4 percent interest rate.

Trustee Prawel also said he hears from constituents that the truck is too much of an expense for residents already overwhelmed with bills.

“We got people who can’t pay their water bill,” Prawel said.

He has been on the board for almost two years. He said the fire truck and addition have dominated village board discussions, preventing the board from other issues, such as upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure, and sidewalk replacements.

The board didn’t fill a position in the DPW in the current budget to try to minimize a tax increase.

“Our DPW is strained,” Prawel said. “We’re putting patches upon patches.”

Mayor Sherman said there could be unintended consequences to not having a ladder truck: higher insurance costs to residents and businesses. She said Fire Chief Cooley is trying to find out how Medina’s ISO ratings would be affected without a ladder truck in the village.

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) rates a community’s fire protection capabilities from 1 (the best) to 10 (the worst). A lower score typically means lower-cost insurance.

The mayor said the ISO information should be available soon to help the board make a decision on the full impact of keeping the ladder truck and having it in a new addition, or not having the truck and what affect that would have on fire insurance rates in the village.

Trustee Marciano said she wants to see the board come together soon and move forward rather than remaining at an impasse.

“I want to see us work toward making a decision rather than no decision,” Marciano said. “This inaction will get us nowhere.”