A new large aerial platform fire truck will likely take four years and more than $2 million to get, but the town of Merrillville is ready to take that step.
The Town Council at its March 26 meeting voted unanimously to allow the Merrillville Fire Territory to purchase the truck. The department hasn’t had one since 2004 and currently relies on other departments in its mutual-aid agreement for help, Merrillville Fire Chief Ed Yerga told the council. The money won’t be due to the manufacturer until the new vehicle is delivered.
Because large vehicle manufacturers are still catching up with parts delays from the pandemic, the manufacturer handling Merrillville’s truck told Yerga to not expect the finished product for at least 45 to 48 months, he said.
The department also initially wanted to work the truck into a bond the Merrillville Fire Territory is pursuing to get a prepay discount on the truck, Yerga said, but with the receipt time so far away, doing so wouldn’t end up saving the town anything, plus a change in state law allows a department to put down only 50% of a big purchase.
Additionally, Yerga said the cost of the truck is slightly inflated because there may be cost fluctuations, and therefore change orders, throughout the process.
The council promised the department it’ll work to find the money to pay for the truck, especially since it’s going to take up to four years to do so. One way to do that is to hit up other developers who want to stake claim in town, Councilman Shawn Pettit, D-6, said.
“We had a Redevelopment Commission work session and public meeting where we heard from Lightsource BP, who wants to put a solar farm on Colorado, and I asked them, like others have done, to look into the bigger developers helping us out us with different types of equipment, and they will look into it,” Pettit said. “Same goes for you, Chief (Kosta) Nuses: If you need any equipment, with these bigger developers out asking for tax incentives, I think it behooves us as a council and a committee to make that request of those developers.”
The town in 2023 granted Lightsource BP a use variance for the 446 acres on both sides of Colorado Street for a $100 million solar farm, Pettit said. As such, the town will now start working on an incentive package and economic development package, he said.
In other business, the town is once again on the hunt for a parks and recreation director because the candidate to whom they extended an offer ultimately declined it.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
