Village to sell vintage fire truck to local department for $1

By: 
Dennis Mansfield, Contributing Writer

Courtesy photo

The station house at Kalkaska Township Fire Department Station No. 7 might soon have a new addition to its fleet of emergency vehicles. At a special meeting Wednesday, the Kalkaska Village Council was scheduled to formally authorize the conveyance of a vintage 1920s Ford fire engine to Station No. 7. The truck is currently in storage at the village's DPW facility.

 

KALKASKA – The station house at Kalkaska Township Fire Department Station No. 7 might soon have a new addition to its fleet of emergency vehicles. And, it will only cost the local fire department $1.

The Kalkaska Village Council was slated to hold a special meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21 (after The Review’s press time). And, on the agenda, council was expected to authorize the conveyance of a vintage 1920s Ford fire engine to Station No. 7.

Village manager Scott Yost said village officials were hoping to keep the vote somewhat of a secret, making the purchase of the truck more of a gift to Station No. 7 and its firefighters.

However, social media might have made that more difficult than anticipated, as a meeting notice regarding Wednesday’s special meeting was posted on the village’s Facebook page.

“Darn, Facebook,” said Harley Wales, village president. “Well, I haven't seen a comment from Station No. 7 yet, so I guess not everyone has seen it yet.

“Those meeting announcements do make it hard to sneak anything into a meeting,” he added, jokingly.

According to Wales, the vintage fire truck had been stored at the Kalkaska Clean Water Treatment Plant before being moved to the village’s Department of Public Works garage at the Kalkaska Village Offices on Hyde Street.

“It’s a beautiful engine,” Wales said.

But, “in the frenzy to clean out the village of its unnecessary holdings, vacant land, unused equipment, etc., the engine came up,” he added.

Then, in a discussion with Yost and trustee Diana Needham, the trio came up with the idea of donating the fire truck to Station No. 7.

“I'm not sure who had the original idea,” Wales said. “But, we all soon came into agreement that it has been in the village far too long to just sell off.

“This is a special piece that needs to find a new home right here, and we believe that Station 7 is the right place for it,” he added.

Read the full story in our regular edition of The Review. To subscribe to the paper for just $34 a year, which includes access to our full online e-edition, please go to the subscription page on this website at: http://www.antrimreview.net/subscribe/

 

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