The Tierra Verde Fire District must purchase a new fire truck for our Fire Station 2, soon to be Station 21 (Jan 1, 2010). This purchase would have occurred even if St Petersburg were still our provider, for trucks must be replaced every 12 to 15 years and our old Engine 2 was purchased circa 1995-1996. St Petersburg took the old Engine 2 with them when they left Tierra Verde on Oct 1, 2009. Tierra Verde owned 60% of that truck and it was reimbursed by St Petersburg after an agreed appraisal of its value. St Petersburg by contract had the right to buy out our interest in the old Engine 2 and they exercised that option. The money was placed into the Capital reserve fund. Lealman has their reserve Ladder truck on loan to us free of charge even though they are not required to do so by the contract. You must have observed by now that Lealman participates in many community activities voluntarily and has been a welcome addition to our community.
On 15 Dec 2009 the Board of County Commissioners voted 6-1 in favor of expending Tierra Verde Fire District funds to order a new truck by the first week of January, 2010. The timing is important because after mid January 2010, Diesel engines on all fire trucks must comply with newer and more stringent standards costing $10,000 to $20,000 more. Paying cash for the vehicle will trigger a $20,000 discount giving us a potential savings of approximately $40,000.
The County plans to take $420,000 out of the $537,000 in the Fire District’s capital fund as a down payment and Lealman will loan us approximately $250,000 to make up the difference. We, the TV Fire District will pay Lealman back in 2 years at an interest rate of less than 2% by an assessment of all property owners, both residential and commercial. At this writing we think residential properties will be assessed approximately $60.00 per year or $5.00 per month for the 2 year period. We the Board and the residents at our Nov 19, 2009 meeting preferred assessment over raising the millage rate to pay for the truck.
The particular Fire apparatus selected comes after 3 months of meetings and consultations between the Lealman Chief, Richard Graham, and County Fire Services head Michael Cooksey and the Tierra Verde Community Association. The final desired truck is not cheap but does cover our needs. It will have a 61 foot ladder, the "jaws of life", ALS capabilities and will adequately serve our Island. Many of you have seen what the new truck will look like, when Lealman brought their own similar vehicle down here at the open house in October and also at one of our monthly Board meetings. In addition, the County plans to turn over to us a late model Chevrolet Suburban for our use as an ALS vehicle.
The numbers quoted above are not exact but are very close to the actual figures.
