$32K for surplass vehicle is approved
RUSSELLVILLE — City council members have authorized the fire department to purchase a state surplus truck for up to $32,000 after the department sold two aging military Humvees.
Fire Chief Joe Mansell said both Humvees have become increasingly difficult and costly to maintain.
“They’re great vehicles. They work great on wood fires, but it was just becoming too much of an investment trying to keep them running,” he said.
The Humvees were acquired through military- surplus programs years ago and were used as brush units for years, Mansell said.
Mansell said the department sold the Humvees through GovDeals, generating a little more than $15,000, the proceeds of which will be used to purchase the surplus vehicle.
Mansell said the department wants to purchase of a 2020 Ford F-250 Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) truck through the state’s surplus vehicle program, which gives municipalities an opportunity to purchase vehicles before they are offered to the public.
The truck is currently located at a state highway department facility in Tuscumbia.
Mansell said the department believed it was first in line to purchase the vehicle and had already placed the item on the council’s agenda before learning another municipality had priority through the state’s wish-list system.
The other municipality was given six days to complete the purchase. If it fails to do so, Russellville will be eligible to purchase the vehicle.
“If this one falls through, we’ll find one similar to it and go ahead and purchase it,” Mansell said.
He said the truck would initially serve as a vehicle for Deputy Chief Randy Seal but later will converted into a brush truck.
Mansell said the department’s long-term plan is to continue relying on at least F-250 class trucks because of the variety of equipment and trailers it must tow.
He said the department maintains a medium rescue trailer, a hazmat trailer, an air-unit trailer, a dive team trailer and boats. Pickup trucks are also used to transport rescue equipment, including Hurst tools used in vehicle extrications.
