The engine slated to be removed from the fleet was Kentwood Engine 54, a 2002 Spartan-Toyne fire engine, and City Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 2, approved the sale of that truck to Gaines Township for the agreed-upon price of $17,000.
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The sale of the engine was not publicly advertised, as is normally required, city documents show, but City Commission was allowed to approve it via special circumstances which dictate that a two-thirds vote from commissioners is sufficient to waive the purchasing rules when a sale is deemed to serve the interests of the city and the public good.
Fire Chief Brent Looman said the department had come up with a ballpark estimate of between $15,000 and $20,000 for the truck's value when it was decided it would be sold. Upon learning the city was looking to sell the truck, Looman said Gaines officials approached the city to inquire about the vehicle.