First responders were the focus of La Grange’s Board of Trustees’ August 26 meeting, with the Board approving a new fire engine and two new police officers.
“Recent cost increases and lead times associated with vehicle deliveries have posed new challenges to the replacement of fleet vehicles,” Trustee Tim O’Brien said introducing the ordinance for approval. “For fire engines, costs have risen over 40 percent over the past four years and the wait time is now 35 to 38 months.”
The total cost of the Pierce Saber Pumper will be $953,454. The purchase will be paid through the Village’s Equipment Replacement Fund and be budgeted during the current budget year.
The Board voted unanimously to approve the sale and waive competitive bidding.
In October of 2023, the Village ordered the purchase of a replacement engine for $1,066,000, with the expected delivery date of March of 2027.
However, the Village decided after the original order that arranging to move up the delivery date was a priority.
Fire Chief Daniel Reda found a demo unit at MacQueen Equipment, that the company originally slated to be shown at trade shows.
The purchase price of the demo represents a savings of $113,146. The new engine’s delivery time is being moved up to between March and July of 2025.
Trustees had questions.
“Is there any penalty for canceling that order now that we’re not going to take delivery on it,” Glenn Thompson asked.
Village President Mark Kuchler noted that the original contract had called for a 10 % cancellation fee, or about $120,000.
“But Chief Reda, who doesn’t want to brag, really negotiated hard,” Kuchler said, stressing that the previous company wanted at least $50,000, but Reda was successful in getting the entire cancellation fee waived.
Beth Augustine wanted to know if the new engine was the same as the original engine ordered.
“It’s not exact,” Reda said, noting that the demo engine was still to be built and would add some features that weren’t on the original order. “It’s more of a semi-custom … we added a few things that weren’t on the originally ordered one, that will more suit our operational needs.”
The two new police officers who took the oath of office were also unanimously approved.
Thomas Dransoff will be a Probationary Officer to fill an existing vacancy. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration from DeVry University and previously served with the Oak Park Police for 24 years. He also completed the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command while working for the Oak Park department.
Brandon Walski also fills an existing vacancy. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminology, law, and justice sociology from the University of Illinois Chicago.
Walski will also attend the 16-week Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, after which he will participate in a 14-week field training program.
The next La Grange Village Board Meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. September 9 at the La Grange Village Hall, 53 S. La Grange Road.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.