High Springs City Commission approves sale of heavy rescue truck, passes public camping ordinance on first reading

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – During their November 21 Regular Meeting, the High Springs City Commission declared their heavy rescue fire truck as surplus, agreed to sell it to Clay County for $740,000, and agreed to purchase a new medium-duty rescue truck, along with a used backup truck to fill the gap until the new rescue truck is delivered. The Commission also passed a State-required ordinance to prohibit public camping and granted a special event permit to allow camping during the next Sunshine State BMX special event.

Selling the heavy rescue truck

Continuing the prior week’s discussion about selling the High Springs Fire Department’s oversized heavy rescue truck and replacing it with a new, more compact rescue truck, High Springs Fire Chief Joseph Peters said, “The offer on the table is from Clay County for $740,000. The current payoff on the heavy rescue, with our December payment made on December 15, is going to be $550,388. If you decide to take the offer from Clay County for $740,000, that will give us a net surplus from the sale of $189,612. The savings in insurance will give us estimated nine-month savings of $3,656, which will give us a net available for purchase of $193,268.” Peters showed a slide with the cost of the proposed new replacement truck and the used backup truck, which will be used for several months until the new truck is ready for delivery. (See slide below.)

Mayor Tristan Grunder asked about keeping the heavy rescue truck, since there is only one other similar truck in the county. Peters said they would still need to purchase an additional truck to travel the narrower roads and the large truck gets “beat up” (damaged) whenever it is driven on roads that are too narrow. 

Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth asked if the firefighters agree with swapping the large truck for a medium rescue truck. Peters said, “Firefighters are on board with everything 100%,” and he added that they actually made the decision. 

City Manager Jeremy Marshall interjected, “There are some firefighters that make valid points on why not to get rid of it, but a majority of the firefighters I talked to are on board to get rid of it. But when we say they’re ‘100% on board,’ not all of them are… but the majority say you can get rid of it.”

During public comment, Rick Testa said he previously worked for the Dade County Fire Department. Testa said firefighters must be trained and certified for each piece of specialized equipment they have, such as the heavy rescue truck, and all of that extra training costs money.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz made a motion to declare the heavy rescue truck as surplus, enabling it to be sold. Commissioner Andrew Miller seconded the motion. It passed 3-2, with Grunder and Commissioner Chad Howell in dissent.

Chief Peters returned to the podium to discuss the $740,000 offer for the truck from Clay County. Weitz asked how many total offers were received. Peters said, “Clay County is the main offer we’ve gotten.” Marshall said they advertised it widely and even had it appraised, and he feels it is a good offer. 

Weitz made a motion to accept the $740,000 offer and sell the truck, and Bloodsworth seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Replacement options

Discussing replacement options, Peters said, “We looked high and low. We did a whole lot of research on medium-duty rescues, light-duty rescues, and we found a medium-duty rescue that really will suit this City for many years moving forward. It’s four-wheel drive. It’s a little bit narrower, it’s a little bit lighter, and it’s got more than enough room to carry a lot of the equipment that is on the heavy rescue right now.” Peters said placing the order at the $280,000 price before January 1 will avoid price increases planned for 2025 that could increase the cost by as much as 25% and will ensure that they receive a chassis that has already been placed on hold for them.

The following slide shows the proposed medium-duty rescue truck:

Peters said they have located a $35,000 used truck in Hollywood, Florida that can be used as a “backup vehicle” until the new medium-rescue truck is delivered from the factory. Peters said it will have some but not all of the big truck’s capabilities. 

Referring back to the first slide, Peters said the total cost for the $280,000 medium-duty truck and the $35,000 backup truck will be $315,000. The amount available after the sale of the heavy truck is $193,268, leaving a balance of $121,732 for the City to fund. 

Finance Director Diane Wilson said financing the debt for 5 years would require annual payments of $29,675, and payments would be $16,983 when financed for 10 years. Wilson said that would be an obvious savings over the current $83,839 scheduled to be paid each year through 2032 for the heavy rescue truck. Wilson said using $125,000 from ARPA funds is a third option, and that would save finance charges of $148,373 for a 5-year loan and $169,835 for a 10-year loan. Wilson said the City currently has $863,051 in unspent ARPA funds, although $250,000 is already committed for something else. 

Marshall said he would recommend the 5-year loan, but they needed to consider that the remaining APRA funds must be committed to something by December 31 or they might eventually lose it. 

Grunder asked if they could split the cost between ARPA funds and a loan, and Wilson said they could. Marshall said, “That’s a really good idea, doing half-and-half. I really like that idea because that gives us a chance to commit some of those ARPA funds and use it for a one-time purchase and lower the monthly or the yearly burden on us.”

Peters showed a slide with information about the proposed used backup/temporary truck, which he said was previously owned by the City of Lakeland and may still be useful for 5 to 10 years or longer. Peters said they could always put a different chassis (front half) on the “box” or back half of the vehicle. (See slide below.)

Howell made a motion to move forward with purchasing both vehicles using a 5-year loan and no ARPA money, not to exceed $325,000 total. Weitz seconded the motion, and she pointed out that ARPA money can still be used to pay off the loan early. The motion passed unanimously.

Ban on public camping

City Attorney Scott Walker introduced the first reading of an ordinance prohibiting public camping or sleeping on any public property, public building, or public right-of-way. All cities in Florida are required to pass such an ordinance under a new State statute. Without any discussion, Miller made a motion to approve the ordinance, and Howell seconded the motion. It passed 5-0 in a roll call vote.

Special event permit for Sunshine State BMX State Series Qualifier

Mayor Grunder said High Springs BMX requested a special event permit to allow camping on City property next April during the Sunshine State BMX State Series Qualifier. Commissioners discussed the need to improve the lighting where the event will occur. Miller made a motion to approve the special event permit, and Howell seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

CDD workshop

After a brief intermission, a Community Development District (CDD) Workshop was held with the Plan Board, the public, and some representatives of the proposed Bridlewood development. The workshop lasted over two hours, and no decisions were made.