Borough approves up to $30k for ladder truck repair
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah Borough Council voted Monday to foot the bill for a major repair to one of the Shenandoah Fire Department’s two aerial devices.
Members of the fire department and its Rescue, Hook and Ladder company were on hand at Monday’s meeting to help explain the need.
Borough Manager Mike Cadau said the cost would be up to $30,000.
“It’s our ladder,” Cadau said of the importance of the expenditure. “In the event we have an incident and the ladder goes halfway up and stops, the liability is going to be detrimental towards what we’re trying to accomplish.”
William Moyer, president of the Rescue, Hook and Ladder Co. told council that the issue is with a hydraulic valve on the Telesqurt, a 2007 American LaFrance. It was purchased new from the company and is one of two ladder trucks serving the borough, the other being a 1995 Simon-Duplex tractor-drawn aerial purchased used from a department in Utah.
American LaFrance filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and closed in 2014.
“One of the three main hydraulic valves that control the extend operation of the aerial has failed,” Moyer told council. “These valves are the original valves on the truck.”
The valves were custom-made for American LaFrance and is obsolete, Moyer said. Repair efforts have been to no avail.
The original manufacturer of the valves, Moyer said, recommends replacing all three with newer electronic, off-the-shelf valves. That could cost between $20,000 and $30,000.
Mayor Andrew Szczyglak voiced his support for council covering the cost.
“These houses and buildings are so close together to begin with,” Szczyglak said. “We have to take care of our firemen because we need it.”
“Where that truck goes is the main thing,” Fire Chief Rick Examitas said, noting it has more room to operate within alleyways compared to the tractor-drawn aerial.
In the interim, Frackville’s Good Will Fire Co. will send their ladder on fire calls, Moyer said.
The fire department is a separate entity from the borough, though there is a loose association between the two. The borough donates to each of the five fire companies annually.
In other business, Councilman Joe Gawrylik brought up longstanding concerns about alleyway parking.
“You couldn’t even squeeze a horse through the street,” Gawrylik said of one example.
“We’re facing that problem with the ambulance alone,” Examitas said.
Gawrylik urged the police force to enforce the no parking ordinance.
Captain Travis Bowman said some alleyways are not properly signed.
Moyer suggested the borough and fire department sit down to revamp the ordinance. He is a former Shenandoah Borough Police Officer.
“It’s not to be ignorant about the people who live there, but the problem is the streets are so tight even getting an ambulance down or a regular car,” Examitas said, “I’m telling you we’re going to have trouble. We have already had trouble at a recent fire when we couldn’t get down the street.”
Examitas also mentioned that the borough had approved a handicapped parking application for New York Street, an alleyway. Normally, council does not approve such spots in alleyways.
“Make sure there’s enough room to get us down there with that parking,” Examitas said.
“We’re not going to be any good to them if we can’t get in,” he added.
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