Belleville City Council OKs order for $650,000 fire truck from R&R

At its Oct. 17 regular meeting, the Belleville City Council added an item to the agenda and then unanimously approved it. Mayor Pro Tem Ken Voigt and Councilwoman Amy Henry were absent.
Fire Chief Brian Loranger asked approval for him to order a fire truck from R&R Services, which could get it to the city after a 220-day wait. Approximate cost would be $650,000.
He said prices are going up and the fire truck has a $600,000 average now with the costs going up 7% every three months. He chose R&R to recommend because it is local and deals in units they trust. Also, its wait time is shorter.
He said West Shore has a two-year wait and most others have a one-year wait.
Chief Loranger said the basic price is without options and options would add about $30,000 to $40,000 more.
“We didn’t ask for the world,” he said of the options, adding the sooner they can get the order to R&R, the better. He said the department already has the hoses and ladders.
He said among options, they will get the prewired headset system, siren like Van Buren Township trucks use as they go through town, outlets for power, and a booster reel where you can pull and go which is good for small fires.
The city recently learned it was approved for a $490,000 federal grant for a fire truck to replace the 1989 truck.
At the 25-minute meeting on Oct. 17, the council also:
• Approved the Special Events Application for a Veterans’ Day ceremony at the monument on High Street at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11. This is put on by the Veterans of Foreign Wars #4434 and the Polish League of American Veterans #167. High Street will be closed at the monument. City Manager / Police Chief David Robinson said it will be done the same way as in the past with the honor guard shooting a volley at the end. He said it’s good to let dispatch know about this in advance;
• Approved the Special Events Application for Winter Fest, which will start the evening of Dec. 1 and run through Sunday, Dec. 4, with the tent on the Fourth Street Square taken down Dec. 5. Main Street will be closed at noon on Friday and the bounce houses moved to between Roys and Fifth to keep the children safe. The event is put on by the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce and director Martha Hanoian said they are trying to work out how to handle the fireworks planned for Saturday night of the event since the Denton Road Bridge is closed. They are considering using the land that goes up to the closed bridge to hold what is needed or to use a barge. There will be no Jingle Belle Run this year;
• Approved accounts payable of $307,116.04 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Atchinson Ford Sales, $640.99 for new fuel injector and plugs for 2017 Ford Explorer, police department; to Brown Funeral Home, $1,380 for moving a vault that was buried in the wrong spot in the old section where there are poor records, DPW; to Osborne Concrete, $712 for footings for headstones, DPW, and $996, for replacement of road after sewer main break on Edison Street, DPW;
• Heard Brad Traskos thank the council for allowing the tractor parade and asked them, if they approve having it next year, to consider having it turn at High Street and proceed to Huron River Drive and then Elwell to return to Sumpter Township because there is less traffic. He said he and his son Bradley, the team that put on the parade, came to hear anything they didn’t like. Mayor Kerreen Conley thanked them for coming and noted that debriefing is important. She said the council will look at the alternate route and they should be able to help work it out. Traskos said he lives on Willis Road and after the event they returned to his place for a meal and it “gives the old duffers, and I’m an old duffer, a chance to sit and talk.” Chief Robinson said he thought it went great and he would like to arrange something like a car show for the tractors to park and people can walk around and look at them;
• Heard Robinson say that Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara called him to find out whose bridge the Denton Road Bridge is. He said he sent him the city map that shows it is in VBT territory. He said Supervisor McNamara talked about getting grants to change the bridge to raise it and maybe cover it. DPW Director Rick Rutherford said it is considered a Wayne County Trunkline and Act 51 funds can be used on it. He suggested asking Wayne County. Councilwoman Kelly Bates said she read in the Independent a suggestion for opening up the parking lane between the bridge and High Street to help alleviate the traffic and Robinson said because of the nature of the curve there it would set up a high chance of accident. It was noted if people had to walk from the parking lot next to Johnny’s on High Street to Benito’s on Main it would be a long way to walk for a pizza. Robinson said a left-turn light at the bridge would be a quick solution;
• Heard Robinson report there are four applicants so far for the open position as assistant to the city manager and a deadline of Oct. 28. He said there is one application for a seat on the Downtown Development Authority. He said he is excited about the plans for Winter Fest and he appreciates all the help from city staff members while he is trying to cover several jobs;
• Heard Councilwoman Bates say the tractor parade is just another event that gives a small-town feel to Belleville, making it, as she likes to say, just like a Hallmark movie;
• Heard Councilman Steve Jones thank the Traskos family for the tractor parade. He announced that Belleville High School won its game on Oct. 14 and will play this Oct. 22. Then come the playoffs. He said they could have home games the next three Fridays after that; and
• Heard Mayor Conley say there were 54 artists featured at the recent Community Art Show and it was well-attended. She reminded everyone of the Witch’s Ball at Egan’s on Oct. 28. Scarecrow winners will be announced at the Nov. 7 council meeting.