A proposed ordinance to purchase and finance a new ladder truck was sent to Hopkinsville City Council after action by the Committee of the Whole at Thursday night’s meeting.
During the quarterly report, Hopkinsville Fire Chief Freddie Montgomery explained one of the current ladder trucks would need $35,000 worth of repairs in order for it to be dependable, and there is no guarantee it would be fully operational. He noted the ladder has been repaired but remains inoperable and the water pump on the truck is not dependable.
Chief Montgomery said a new ladder truck would cost over $1.45 million dollars, but that price will increase in February.
Chief Financial Officer Robert Martin presented various options as to how the City could finance the truck. He says they could get a $68,000 discount, but there is a stipulation.
He added there are two ways they can pay the nearly $1.39 million up front – by taking it out of the prior year revenue or by financing it.
Martin noted the City also had the option to finance the truck through the company but believes that is not the best option. He added another option would be to finance it through a bank, but banks are not favorable financing a ten-year loan.
After a 20-minute discussion, Mayor Carter Hendricks said he would rather not borrow the money but would prefer to bring some internal financing together and come up with a plan to pay it back as soon as possible.
Committee members unanimously approved a motion to forward the ordinance purchase and finance to City Council.
In other action, the committee moved to forward the ordinance to finance and lease the former Williams Chevrolet building located at 512 South Clay Street in order to move the Probation and Parole Office from the building on East 9th Street. Community and Development Services Director Steve Bourne said the total cost of the building on Clay Street is nearly $945,000, and they could rent out the bottom floor of the East 9th Street building.
And the committee approved moving forward with an amendment for the WINS sidewalk projects in the city to include construction of a sidewalk on Canton Street from North Drive to the Walmart Neighborhood Market.
