After much feuding about the bid process and whether to hire an expert to help design a fire truck, the Arlington (VT) selectboard finally voted, unanimously to buy a $423,556 fire truck, according to a report published by the Manchester Journal.
The Arlington Fire Department had been trying to buy a new apparatus for years, according to the newspaper, and the process nearly got delayed again as the selectboard debated the bids and how they were derived. At one point a former fire chief told the board the bids were so different it was difficult to decide which one to approve, the paper reported.
One of the sticking points is whether the new apparatus would be able to fit through the town’s covered bridge, the newspaper reported, adding that Arlington firefighters are certain the new rig will fit.
The selectboard got the current fire chief on the phone during the meeting to talk about the process and the chief expressed frustration about the selectboard’s indecision and warned any additional delay in awarding the bid would cause a significant price increase and push the replacement cycle out even further, the paper reported.
Debate got testy during the recent meeting, but in the end, the board approved a bid submitted by E-ONE for a pumper on a Freightliner cab and chassis on a vote of five to zero, the paper reported.