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NILES — The Niles City Council made a move to upgrade the Niles Fire Department’s aging equipment.

During its Monday meeting, the Niles City Council voted to purchase two fire engine rear mount pumpers from Emergency Vehicles Plus of Milan, Michigan at a cost of $1,565,606.

The pumpers will be paid for using American Rescue and Recovery Act Funds. The two fire engines will replace two vehicles currently in use by the fire department, both of which City Administrator Ric Huff said have surpassed their intended lifespans. Delivery of completed units is expected in two years and once they arrive, the current engines will be sold at auction.

“Well-funded fire departments are replacing their engines at seven to ten years,” he said. “The oldest one we have is a 1995 and the newest one we have is a 2002. They have exceeded their life expectancy.”

The council elected to pre-pay for the units in full as opposed to a $28,484 pre-payment that would have reduced the final cost to $1,537,122 due to projected rising costs over the next few years.

“I would personally like to see us save money,” he said. “I’m sure the money that we save will be put into some of these other projects.”

In other business, council:

• Authorized the purchase of necessary equipment to outfit two recently purchased Police Department Ford Explorer patrol vehicles from Waymire Fleet of Indianapolis, IN at a cost of $20,454.70. The purchase was budgeted for in the police department’s 2022 fiscal year budget.
• Accepted the bid of $112,000 from Duperon/Dubois-Cooper Corp. of Saginaw, MI for the purchase of the Compactor Washer for use at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The WWTP currently hand shovels all of the debris that is collected by the bar screen and discharged into a stainless-steel hopper. In both high flow events and the fall season, the hopper is quickly overwhelmed. This compactor washer will eliminate the need for shoveling and will convey the debris directly to a dumpster for disposal to the landfill.
• Approved a $24,883.16 reimbursement to the Community Development Block Grant program. The CDBG program allows grantees to carry out a variety of community development activities directed towards revitalizing neighborhoods, economic development and providing improved community services. The reimbursement will be funded by the city’s contingency fund, which will require an amendment at the end of the fiscal year.