The Alva City Council held a special meeting on Monday, Jan. 30, to consider a proposal to sell an older fire truck and purchase a newer one. Troy Brooks was the only council member absent.

Alva Fire Chief Bryan Miller presented several pages of information about the proposed fire truck purchase including research on lease-purchase options among local banks. He told the council a demo truck that came out in January was sent north and has just arrived for some stops in Oklahoma. Alva has the opportunity to purchase this truck at a discounted price.

To help pay for the purchase, and to make room in the fire station, he proposed selling a 2014 EONE International 440SBA 4x2 fire truck. Miller said he already had a buyer, a nearby fire department, for $200,000. The department has a grant for that amount to buy a truck. The 2014 truck was purchased for $240,590. Miller said the city has had several problems with the truck that have been repaired. He believes it will perform better in a department where it is not so heavily used.

The new truck he proposed purchasing would cost $750,000 if built new. Since it is a demonstration model, the city could buy it for a $150,000 discount at $600,000. To lock in the purchase, Miller said the city needed to agree to a $599,000 lease purchase. If the older truck is sold for $200,000, that amount can be reduced to $399,000.

Until the city council approves the purchase, the truck is available for others to buy it. Miller said there is a high demand for trucks because orders being placed now won’t be delivered until 2025.

Mayor Kelly Parker said the city still owes $37,000 on the 2014 truck, but that will be paid off this year. Purchasing the new truck, the city would be trading a $3,700 payment for a $9,100 payment.

There was discussion about the amount spent on repairs for the 2014 truck including about $20,000 this year.

Parker asked City Attorney Drew Cunningham if the city needed to go through a sealed bid process to sell the 2014 fire truck. Cunningham wasn’t sure without doing some research. After some discussion about the wording, Daniel Winters made a motion to sell the 2014 fire truck in accordance with state statutes, seconded by Sadie Bier. The motion passed by a 6-0 vote with Taylor Dowling abstaining. An “abstain” vote means the person refrains from voting so it is not counted.

The next agenda item was discussion and action on the purchase of the new fire truck, a 2022 E-One Custom Rescue Pumper, for $599,473. Several times during the meeting, Mayor Parker reminded the council that the city can only be obligated for one year, and if the city is unable to make the lease purchase payments, the lending company will become the owner of the truck. He recommended that any action not specify the lender. That way, the city is free to negotiate.

Winters made a motion, seconded by Randy Stelling, to pursue a lease-purchase agreement to purchase the 2022 fire truck. That motion also passed 6-0 with Dowling abstaining.