VFD to buy vehicle with gift to city
By Melinda L. Lucas
After a lengthy discussion, Albany volunteer firemen were given permission to spend $30,000 in designated funds for an auxiliary vehicle. The action came during a regular monthly session on Monday night, Dec. 9 at City Hall.
Fire chief Kyle Tischler and assistant chief Travis Gardenhire presented five bids for pre-owned vehicles – four Suburbans and one crew cab pickup with a camper cover – to replace a 1987 Suburban that is no longer reliable.
The funding was given to the city by a local citizen three years ago, but it was to be used by the fire department.
“We had first intended to use this money to help purchase an engine, but we were able to do that last year with other donations,” said Gardenhire. “We set this funding aside to replace the Suburban.”
Tischler explained that a Suburban or pickup with camper is needed to transport personnel both to scenes and to school, as well as to utilize to haul equipment such as the Jaws of Life if other vehicles break down.
“We used the 1987 Suburban for 18 years, but lately, our guys have had to provide their own transportation to and from school,” said Tischler. “It’s also more efficient to transport several volunteers to fires rather than taking one of the bigger pieces of equipment that can’t carry as many people and may not even be needed.”
After asking several questions, the council members voted to allow all the funding to be used for the vehicle, with the fire officers making the decision which one to purchase.
Hazard Mitigation
Jay Hardaway with H2O Partners outlined the Hazard Mitigation Plan update that his team has been working on for Big Country area communities through the West Central Texas Council of Governments.
FEMA requires the plan to be updated every five years, and Hardaway explained that the process is lengthy.
“By adopting this, you’re not agreeing to do everything in here,” he said. “There are suggestions that you tackle as you’re able, and I would encourage you to review this every year and see what progress you’ve made.”
He added that there is no cost to the city for the plan, which is funded by a grant to the COG.
A resolution was passed to adopt the update.
Other Business
•Mike and Pam Bean, who recently purchased a local mobile home park and have converted it to RV sites, requested that the city reduce the number of water meters from 10 to five, stating that RVs in general use less water than semi-permanent mobile homes. The request will be placed on next month’s agenda.
•The council was in closed session for over an hour to discuss personnel issues, but no discussion or action took place when the meeting was reopened.
