Colfax fire board authorizes fire chief to begin search for “new” tender

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  The Colfax Community Fire Board has authorized Don Logslett, Colfax fire chief, to begin searching for a replacement tender.

Logslett told the fire board at the August 2 meeting he plans to gather information about replacing the tanker truck to present at the fire board’s October meeting.

The “little” tanker truck needs to be replaced. The Colfax fire department has already replaced the other tender, Logslett noted.

The engine is acting up on the tender and is blowing oil when it is started up, he said.

The fire department spent $75,000 to replace the first tender, Logslett said, pointing out that a new tank would be needed this time around.

The fire board approved at a June of 2015 meeting the purchase of a 2005 International truck chassis and also approved moving the tank from the 1978 tanker truck to the International chassis at a total cost not to exceed $75,000.

Mark Warner, fire board member and representative for the Town of Otter Creek, wondered if Logslett were planning to purchase a used truck chassis for the “little” tender.

Gary Bjork, chair of the fire board and representative for the Town of Colfax, asked if the replacement tender would be a diesel engine.

“Yes,” Logslett replied, clarifying that the chassis would be used, would have a diesel engine and also would have an automatic transmission.

The fire department has had the tender that will be replaced for “quite a few years” and it had “a million miles on it when we got it,” Logslett said.

The existing tender up for replacement originally was a garbage truck in New Richmond, he said.

Colfax firefighters serving on the truck committee are Joe Solberg, Gary Larson, Dean Logslett and Gary Hill.

The members of the committee know a great deal about trucks — makes, models, and which engines hold up and which ones cause trouble and what kinds of problems they have, Logslett said.

The Colfax fire district includes the Village of Colfax and the Towns of Colfax, Grant and Otter Creek.

Fire engine

Within the next two or three years, the Colfax fire department also will have to replace the fire engine, Logslett said.

The existing fire engine was a demonstration model and was purchased in 1994, he said.

A new fire engine will cost in the neighborhood of $300,000, Logslett told the fire board.

The Colfax fire department budgets $20,000 per year for the vehicle replacement fund. For the last several years, any money left over at the end of the year also has been put into the replacement fund.

After the next tanker is purchased, with another two years of setting aside $20,000, the vehicle replacement fund will contain about $160,000 by the time the fire department is ready to purchase a new fire engine, Logslett said.

Members of the fire board noted their respective boards would most likely have to borrow the money to pay their share of a new fire engine.

The townships would pay for a new fire engine based upon their percentage of equalized value in the fire district.

After the fire board has approved the purchase of a new fire engine, it will take another year to determine the specifications, order the fire engine, wait it for it to be built and then take delivery on it, Logslett said.

By the time the fire department takes delivery on the new fire engine, the equipment replacement fund will contain about two-thirds of the purchase price, he noted.

The Colfax firefighters purchased a reserve engine from Bayport for $12,000 several years ago and donated it to the Colfax Community Fire District.

The fire engine from Bayport is a 1990 model and replaced a 1973 model that was previously used as a reserve for the Colfax fire department.

When asked which fire engine would be sold when it comes time to buy a new fire engine, Logslett said it would depend on which fire engine could be expected to bring in the most money.

The reserve fire engine purchased from Bayport is an excellent back-up engine. Having such a good reserve engine has extended the life of the 1994 fire engine by several years, Logslett said.

Other business

In other business, the Colfax Community Fire Board:

• Reviewed the year-end budget report for 2016 and learned the actual expenses for last year were $103,645.01 and the budgeted amount was $112,700. Logslett noted the expenses did not equal the budgeted amount because the fire department had fewer runs last year, the department is carefully watching expenses and the department also received several small grants.

• Approved a motion to put the $9,000 difference between the actual expenses and the budgeted amount into the vehicle replacement fund. The Colfax fire department has not increased the annual budget for about the past eight years, Logslett said, noting the budget has not increased since Logslett became the fire chief.

• Approved a motion to hold regular meetings in October, April and the middle of July.