City receives $500,000 grant for ladder truck

The city of Concordia will be receiving a $500,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be used to help purchase a ladder truck for the Fire Department.
USDA Kansas director for rural development Christy Davis announced on Wednesday the investment of $639,854 in emergency preparedness and clean energy in rural Kansas.
Among the grant recipients is the city of Concordia.
The Concordia city commission was informed in October 2021 that the city was going to apply for funding for the purchase of a replacement ladder truck.
The current ladder truck is a 1999 model and was purchased by the city in 2001.
It was reported to the commissioners that when a ladder truck reaches an age of 25 years it is no longer counted as a ladder truck for the purchase of the community's Insurance Services Office rating, which determines the property insurance premium rate paid by property owners based on the assigned fire agency's ability to respond to a fire emergency with respect to staffing, training, tactical operations and equipment.
When combined with modifications and response protocols, the purchase of a new ladder truck has the potential to reduce property insurance premiums for homes and businesses.
The estimated cost of the replacement ladder truck, which will be similar in functionality to the current truck with a 500-gallon water tank and a 1,500 gallon-per-minute water pump, was placed at $1,120,000.
The North Central Regional Planning Commission has worked on the city's behalf to secure funding to purchase the replacement ladder truck.
In February of this year, the city of Concordia was awarded a $560,000 Community Development Block Grant for the purchase of the ladder truck.
The city also received a $30,000 grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.
City manager Amy Lange reported that because of the grant awards, the city's local match obligation is only $30,000.
Bids for the ladder truck will be solicited later this month.
Action by the city commission on the purchase of the truck is expected in October.
Because of the long lead time on that type of equipment, the city expects the truck to arrive in late 2023 or early 2024.