Council stalls purchase of fire department vehicle

By Natalie De La Garza
Staff Writer
CARIBOU, Maine — For the second time in roughly six months, the Caribou city councilors have not voted in favor of purchasing a new vehicle for use by the fire chief — but the vote was close. Councilors Joan Theriault, David Martin and Philip McDonough and Mayor Gary Aiken voted to not purchase the unit — councilors Shane McDougall, David Genthner and Kenneth Murchison voted to approve the purchase.    The vehicle in question was a 2011 Ford Expedition SUV from Madawaska; the vehicle has 5,000 miles on it, which raised a few eyebrows on the board.
“It just seems strange that it has so few miles,” Aiken said. Other members of the board speculated that the low miles could have been due to a maintenance issue or poor fuel economy.
When the council rejected the first request for the purchase of a different vehicle in the fall, Martin explained that his opposition wasn’t necessarily the cost.
“I’m still not convinced that it’s needed,” he explained.
While the Fire Chief, Scott Susi, described his travels of Feb. 24 — two fire inspections, lunch, and travel to the council meeting — he explained to Martin why a command vehicle is important for him to have, even at home.
“Everything I need is in it for a fire scene, so if I leave it at the station, I can’t respond to a fire from my house,” Susi said.
Councilors Theriault and Martin described complaints they’ve heard from community members regarding the fire chief’s vehicle being driven around town, but Murchison emphasized the importance of having a proper vehicle for the chief.
“This is a health and safety issue — this isn’t just a vehicle for the chief to bounce around in. It’s a fire truck, and it’s a command vehicle because our commander is using it,” Murchison said.
In bringing the proposal for a new vehicle to the council, city manager Austin Bleess cited that the chief’s current rear wheel drive Crown Victoria does no do well in the snow.
“A few weeks back, the vehicle got stuck at a fire scene,” Bleess described.
Through the council did not approve the purchase of an SUV for the fire chief, they did agree to discuss the matter at the next meeting and requested that the fire chief present justification for the purchase.
Murchison opposed the justification process, citing that the purchase has been planned for nearly five years and the funding to replace the command vehicle has already been set aside. Genthner also opposed making the chief justify the acquisition.
The matter will be discussed at the next meeting of the Caribou City Council, slated for 7 p.m. on Monday, March 10 in the Council Chambers.