A special Plainsboro Fire District election that is being held Saturday, September 26, will ask residents here to approve the purchase of two pieces of fire apparatus that are more than three decades old.
According to Phil Giusto, chairman of the fire district’s Board of Commissioners, the two pieces of equipment that need replacing are a 1977 pumper and a 1979 aerial tower ladder. The trucks were refurbished in the 1990s, but officials say they are more than five years beyond their maximum service life.
The fire company’s current Tower 49 was built in 1979 and was refurbished in 1994 — 30 years since its date of manufacture and 15 years since it was refurbished. Engine 49-1 was built in 1977 and was refurbished in 1996, making it 32 years since its original date and 13 years since its refurbishment, Giusto said. Additionally, Engine 49-1 failed annual pump tests and needs an estimated $11,000 in repair work.
Giusto says residents’ approval of the measure — a total of $2.125 million — will carry no tax impact on Plainsboro taxpayers. This is because the fire district has incorporated anticipated capital reserve into the budget process to offset the anticipated apparatus replacement schedule costs, he said. The district has $300,000 remaining on capital reserve after paying for recently purchased equipment and expects to provide a $750,000 down payment on the two units. And, the required bonds will carry a short-term duration, he says.
Giusto said that the board of fire commissioners carefully planned capital expenditures and had identified the most appropriate and fiscally responsible alternatives that would have the least impact to taxpayers. “The trucks we are currently seeking to replace are excellent examples of that record,” Giusto said. “Rather than replace them when they approached the end of their service life expectancy, the district refurbished them, providing firefighters and taxpayers an affordable solution that extended their life five years beyond the maximum recommended service life.”
“The voters still have a right to say ‘no,’ and again it’s their money, but at the end of the day, it’s really that balance of trying to make sure we have the right equipment,” Giusto added.
Fire officials also pointed to the need for up-to-date fire apparatus in anticipation of the opening of the new University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro in 2011. “While this facility will offer many opportunities for Plainsboro, it will also present significant additional challenges for fire protection,” Giusto said. “There will certainly be an increase in traffic to and from the hospital and in terms of delivery services and even medical waste contractors,” he added.
The aerial tower ladder is required in the event of a fire or other emergency on the upper floors of the hospital, Giusto explained. The rescue pumper carries specialized extrication equipment that would be the first fire unit to respond to traffic accidents and emergencies.
If voters approve the measure, Giusto said that delivery of the new apparatus and new pump would be expected in the third quarter of 2010.
