Photo by Jon Anderson
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A ladder truck sits outside Hoover Fire Station No. 11 in the Trace Crossings community in Hoover, Alabama, during a dedication ceremony for the station on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. The Hoover City Council on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, agreed to borrow $2.56 million to pay for a new ladder truck and a new pumper truck, in addition to two other ladder trucks ordered 17 months prior.
The Hoover City Council on Dec. 19 agreed to borrow $2.56 million to pay for two new fire trucks the council agreed to buy earlier this month.
The Fire Department is ordering a new ladder truck and a new pumper truck, and the city’s chief financial officer, Tina Bolt, told the council tonight she believes it would be better to borrow the money than pay the total amount in cash upfront.
Some council members questioned whether it would be better to go ahead and pay in cash and avoid finance charges because the city has money available, but Bolt and City Administrator Allan Rice said, because of several circumstances, they believe it would be better to borrow the money and pay off the loan early as more money becomes available.
Bolt said the city was able to obtain a low interest rate of 3.44% from Bryant Bank for a five-year loan, and because it will be a while before the fire trucks can be manufactured and delivered, she would rather not expend the city’s money without getting something for it quickly.
Instead, the city can make a smaller payment for now and retain more of its money. The terms of the five-year loan from Bryant Bank require a $46,462 monthly payment to cover principal and interest, city records show.
Just 17 months ago, the city ordered two ladder trucks and a pumper truck with an expected wait time of a year for delivery, but now, the wait time for a custom truck to be manufactured and delivered is 24 to 26 months for a ladder truck and 30 months for a pumper, city records show.
Bolt said her plan is to make payments on the new loan for now and when the trucks are delivered, perhaps pay off the rest of the loan early.
Rice also noted that if the city paid cash for the fire trucks now, that would use up all the money budgeted for new vehicle purchases for this fiscal year. The city already has placed orders on some other vehicles and would have to either cancel those orders and future orders this fiscal year or amend the budget to allocate more money for vehicle purchases.
Council members at first considered tabling consideration of the loan on Dec. 19, but Rice informed the council that the manufacturer of the fire trucks is implementing an 8% price increase at the end of this month, and if the council didn’t act Dec. 19, the trucks would cost a good bit more.
The other two ladder trucks that were ordered in July 2021 are expected to be delivered soon, fire Division Chief Duane Prater said.
In other business Dec. 19, the Hoover City Council:
- Awarded Bama Utility Contractors of Fultondale a $1.56 million contract to improve a sewer pump station in the Applecross sector of the Inverness community.
- Awarded Wayne Davis Construction of Montevallo a $150,787 contract to replace a stormwater drainage culvert on Sulphur Springs Road.
- Accepted a $200,000 contribution from Shelby County for assistance with renovating two classrooms in the National Computer Forensics Institute at the Hoover Public Safety Center.
- Accepted a $22,470 payment from Shelby County to help pay for emergency medical transport services provided by the Hoover Fire Department in Shelby County. That amounts to $1,000 per square mile of Hoover that is in Shelby County, Prater said. Shelby County is providing money to other municipalities for emergency medical transport services as well, he said.
- Agreed to pay Shelby County $35,500 for aerial photography and topographic mapping services being provided by the county for the portion of Hoover in Shelby County.
- Declared Feb. 24-26, 2023, as the dates for the city’s annual severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday. During those dates, people can buy certain materials in Hoover to help prepare for severe weather without paying city or state sales taxes on those items.
- Approved an agreement for the Hoover, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Rocky Ridge fire departments to provide classroom space for certain training offered by the Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission. The agreement will allow Hoover firefighters and others to be trained in Hoover or the other fire departments’ facilities without having to travel to the Fire College in Tuscaloosa or other training sites further away, Prater said.
- Approved six community service agreements, providing $24,000 to the Humane Society of Shelby County, $8,000 to the Alabama Wildlife Center for services for sick or injured wild birds or waterfowl in Hoover public ponds and lakes, $5,000 to Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, $5,000 to The Clay House Children’s Center for services for abused children, $5,000 to One Place Metro Alabama Justice Center for services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and $4,000 to The Prescott House for services for abused and neglected children.
- Heard the first reading of an ordinance to annex city-owned property at 3989 and 3993 Lorna Road near the Cahaba River. The City Council in April agreed to pay $375,000 to buy the 2.63 acres for future use as either commercial and/or recreational property. A public hearing is set for Jan. 3.