The acceptance of a lease purchase agreement Tuesday by the Petal Board of Aldermen will allow the purchase of new fire engine that will replace one of the older trucks at Petal Fire Department.
Aldermen voted unanimously to accept the agreement, which is through Regions Fire Equipment and will set out a five-year loan to purchase the $350,000 truck.
“This is the one we approved buying last year; we’re just doing the lease now,” Mayor Hal Marx said. “The actual first payment will be made next budget year, so we’ve got to stretch it out. We’ll get the truck delivered, and then the first payment will be in the 2020 budget year.”
The city will make annual payments of $78,645.85, with an interest rate of 3.94 percent over the 60-month period.
“That’s versus $96,000 a year for the four-year (lease), so we’re just going to do one extra year to drop the payment down just a little bit so we could absorb some other costs,” Marx said. “We got that SAFER Grant (to hire additional) firemen, and each year we have to pay more of their salary, so this will help us with that.”
Petal Fire Department currently has three main pumper fire engines, in addition to a ladder truck. The new truck will replace one the three main engines, leaving the city’s total at four trucks.
“You should replace your engines about every 15 to 18 years,” Marx said. “Our ladder truck is kind of like a reserve truck in case one of the other three is being repaired, so this will replace one of those other three.”
Along with the lease purchase agreement for the fire truck, aldermen also approved the purchase of two new pieces of equipment for the fire department: a 127-ton pressure lift bag kit in the amount of $7,695 and a TNT Brute Force Rescue Tool in the amount of $8,795. Both pieces of equipment will be paid for with state rebate money.
In other action Tuesday, aldermen:
• Voted to accept the resignation of Sheila Havard Smallwood as Judge pro tem, effective Dec. 31. Smallwood was elected in November as the new chancery court judge for District 10, Place 3, and will take over for the retiring Johnny L. Williams. Zach Vaughn, who was elected in November as the new Forrest County Justice Court Judge Post 2, was recently appointed to fill Smallwood’s former judge pro tem position.
• Voted to promote Will Lewis to Lieutenant in the fire department at a rate of $13.89 per hour, effective Dec. 19.
• Voted to promote seven firefighters to Class 3 Firefighter at a rate of $11.04 per hour, effective Dec. 19: Brandon Farris, Alexander Lininger, Daniel Peopper, Tamario Weathersby, Chris Shows, Corwyn Corley and William Bullock.
