South Strabane supervisors approve 10-year lease for $1.3 million fire truck
Elected officials in South Strabane Township approved a lease for a $1.3 million fire truck with a 107-foot-ladder.
The 10-year agreement with First National Bank is heavily backloaded, with a more than $690,000 payment due in 2034. According to the lease agreement, the first payment would be $73,153 due on Oct. 1 this year, and then the payments would become $130,768.50 annually.
Supervisors approved the agreement on a 3-2 vote at a meeting last Wednesday, which was a reconvening of the regular supervisors meeting on July 22. Jeff Bull and George Rowand were the dissenting votes.
Township Manager Jeff Ziegler explained the final “balloon payment” could likely change before the bill comes due in a decade.
“I’d probably bet between now and then they’ll look at doing some other sort of loan, refunding a bond, and trying to refinance that whole thing. That would level those payments out a little bit more,” Ziegler said.
Supervisors originally voted to approve the purchase of the truck in October 2022. Bull was not on the board at that time, but said he would not have supported it.
“Did South Strabane need this? We have a ladder truck – doesn’t go as high as this one,” Bull said.
The fire department’s existing ladder truck has a 70-foot ladder. Fire Chief Jordan Cramer did not respond to phone calls seeking comment for this story, but in the past has indicated the current truck does not meet the needs of the township.
He has pointed to the fatal Dec. 2021 fire at Thomas Campbell Apartments as an example of where a taller ladder could have helped them get people to safety more quickly.
Bull suggested that with mutual aid, another ladder truck is superfluous.
“Washington has one, North Strabane has one. Each of the departments has a ladder truck, each of the departments help each other,” Bull said.
He added that he believes communities should work more closely on paying for fire safety.
“It’s time for us to invest in a regional fire department, or it’s time for the county commissioners to take this (local share account) and gaswell money and invest in a countywide fire department,” Bull said.