By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory is going to get a new ladder truck, but instead of receiving it in just over a year, it’ll be closer to 2-1/2 years.

Fire Chief Brian Mayo wasn’t expecting to talk about the truck at the Warsaw Common Council meeting Monday night, Feb. 5, but Councilwoman Diane Quance asked him to tell the council about it.

The Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approved the finance agreement for the Smeal/Spartan 100-foot rear-mount aerial platform ladder truck at its meeting Friday. The cost of the vehicle is $1,812,636, but with interest will be slightly more than $2.4 million if the full amount is paid over the full 12 years.

“It will take roughly 640 days. It started at 480 days with the original contract,” Mayo said. “Through this process, because it’s a long process, I’ve already been told it’s been pushed to 640 days. It will more than likely be pushed farther to the right. All of those things are outside of our control. It’s logistics, it’s market, it’s workers.”

He said it’ll be 2-1/2 to 3 years before they receive the truck. “That’s why this process is so important, because that (old) truck is 20 years old, it’ll be 22 when the new truck gets here.”

The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory will be asked to approve the finance agreement at their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Mayo reminded the city council Monday that they should have a new fire engine show up this year. It was ordered before Mayo became fire chief in 2023.

“It’s two years in the making. It should be here in July — again, don’t hold me to that because that also has been pushed a year-plus past delivery. So, a lot of exciting stuff going on, but it’ll get here when it gets here,” he stated.

In other business, the council:

• Approved, on second reading, an ordinance modifying the pollutant limits that are allowed to be sent to the city’s wastewater utility plant from industry. The ordinance allows for an increase in the daily maximum limit in milligrams per liter (mg/l) for copper from 0.30 to 1.69.

Utility Superintendent Brian Davison said the copper limit increase is the only change by the ordinance.
The first approval of the ordinance took place at the council’s Jan. 16 meeting.

• Approved the transfer of $18,000 from VW Charging Station Grant into cumulative capital improvement general fund, as requested by Jackson Longenbaugh, assistant city planner, Building & Planning Department.

“The reason for this is just to reimburse the CCI, which was used to pay those claims originally a few years ago,” he said, adding that it was a reimbursement grant so the transfer is to pay the city back for funds used for the charging stations.

Councilman Mike Klondaris asked how well the charging stations were being received. Longenbaugh said he didn’t know off the top of his head, but he could get him the information.

Councilman Juergen Voss wanted to know what the electric bill for those charging stations were. Longenbaugh said he didn’t know but he could get that information for him.

• Approved on first and second reading an ordinance authorizing the purchase agents of city to make advance payments on contracts for public works projects, goods and services.

City attorney Scott Reust reminded the council that they touched on the ordinance at their Jan. 16 meeting.
“State Legislature has provided that they wanted there to be an ordinance to allow that purchases of goods and services for public works could be pre-paid because they recognized that many vendors needed to order supplies and materials and those kind of things,” Reust said. “This ordinance will allow the city of Warsaw to pre-pay up to 50% of the total contract cost for goods and services if necessary, like we talked about previously.”

• Acknowledged 10 uniform conflict of interest disclosure statements for 2024. Those are for Public Works Superintendent Dustin Dillon, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Lt. Brent Fifer, Department of Public Works equipment operator Jay Godshalk, Warsaw Police Department officer Rogelio Navarro, City Councilwoman Diane Quance, Warsaw Plan Commission member Renea Salyer, WWFT firefighter Derek Shilling, WWFT firefighter Joel Shilling, City Councilman Juergen Voss and accounts payable clerk Morgan Woodcock.

• Was reminded that the next council meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 20 instead of Monday, Feb. 19 due to Presidents Day.