PETOSKEY - City council members will consider purchasing a replacement for an aging aerial fire truck when they meet Monday, Sept. 19. A regular council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall, 101 E. Lake St. In August, city voters approved a new, 0.75-mill property tax levy aimed at updating the city's fire fleet.
Sutphen Corp., an Ohio-based fire apparatus maker that built most of the city's current fire trucks, recently notified Petoskey officials that it has a 2016-model platform truck — which has been used as a demonstrator unit, and is equipped with a 100-foot aerial device — available for purchase. City leaders propose that the council authorize this truck's purchase at a cost of about $1.09 million.
The truck has logged about 15,000 miles — mainly from traveling around the country for demonstration purposes — but has not been used for firefighting. It would come with the same warranty Sutphen offers on a brand-new apparatus, and could be delivered to Petoskey in about four weeks if the city moves ahead with the purchase. The demonstrator model would cost about $100,000 less than a similar built-to-order truck, which would require about a year's time to be manufactured and delivered.
Petoskey Department of Public Safety representatives recently traveled to Ohio to inspect the truck, test-drive it and try out its aerial ladder and fire pump. City officials note that the truck meets Petoskey's specifications.
The truck's $1.09 million price tag reflects a $30,000 trade-in allowance for Petoskey's old aerial truck, and includes about $16,000 worth of equipment needed to put the truck in service.