Fire Committee - September 14, 2026

1 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______ September 14, 2026 5:00 P.M. Amery City Center ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.84, Notice is hereby given to the public that a meeting of the Fire Committee of the City of Amery will be held on September 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM at 104 Maple St. W., Amery, WI. Roll Call Adoption of agenda Agenda Items: 1) Approval of Minutes from June 8, 2026 2) Chief’s Report 3) Fire Station Floor Update 4) Ladder Truck Discussion 5) Adjournment Respectfully Submitted; Taylor Larson Clerk/Treasurer Posted: Website (www.amerywi.gov); Amery City Hall; Amery Public Library and Amery Police Department September 8, 2026 FIRE COMMITTEE AGENDA 104 Maple Street W. Amery, WI 54001 http://www.amerywi.gov (715) 268-7486 Fax: (715) 268-4870 The City of Amery does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or provision of services, programs or activities. NOTE: Upon reasonable notice, the City of Amery will accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through aids or services. For additional information or to request this service, contact the Clerk -Treasurer’s office at (715) 268-7486 by Noon the previous day so that arrangements can be made. 104 Maple Street W., Suite A Office: 715.268.7486 Amery, WI 54001 Fax: 715.268.4870 TO: Amery Fire Committee FROM: Alex Mansfield, City Administrator DATE: September 1, 2026 RE: Ladder Truck Status and Replacement Funding Strategy Summary Our ladder truck was brought in for service this spring following an electric issue. The inspection found the apparatus is beyond repair, and the manufacturer no longer produces parts for it, so refurbishment is not an option. I am recommending the Committ ee accept the truck's decommissioning and support a grant-first strategy for replacing it. No City debt is being proposed at this time; that question would only come back to the Committee if a federal grant is secured. Background The ladder truck is a first -line asset for structural firefighting and for rescue on larger buildings across Amery and the Committee's full service area, including Lincoln, Black Brook, and Alden. Without it, Amery's ISO rating is expected to drop from Cla ss 4 to Class 6, which raises commercial insurance costs for property owners across the whole service area, not just within city limits. A replacement runs approximately $1.6 million. Given that price, the City wants to pursue outside funding before turning to debt. The City is planning to engage a company called Lexipol, a professional grant writing firm, to prepare an application for the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, the largest federal source of funding for apparatus replacement. AFG basics: AFG is a competitive federal grant program run by FEMA, funded through the Department of Homeland Security. It gives money directly to fire departments for equipment, training, and vehicle purchases, including engines and aerial apparatus like ours. It is the largest source of federal apparatus funding available to fire departments, but because of that, it draws applications from departments nationwide every year, so being awarded anything is not automatic. Fiscal Impact Two funding paths are on the table, and they may end up working together rather than one replacing the other. Grant path (recommended): AFG caps its award by the population a department serves. For a department Amery's size, that ceiling is $1 million, even for a fully successful application, and the program also requires a local cash match of 5%. On a $1.6 million truck, that means the Ci ty would still need to cover roughly $635,000 or more on our own, even in the best case. That is a meaningfully smaller ask than financing the full purchase through debt, and worth pursuing before we consider anything else, but a grant alone will not close the whole gap. Apparatus requests are also the most competitive category in the program, so an award is not guaranteed at all. There is no cost to the Townships for this application or grant service. Debt path (fallback): the City's financial advisor, Baird, has structured a General Obligation Promissory Note that could finance the truck at a 4.50% interest rate over a standard 20-year term. Financing the full $1.6 million this way runs to roughly $2.7 million in principal and interest over the life of the note. If AFG comes through at its $1 million ceiling, the City would only need to finance the remaining balance, well under half that amount. This option is not currently built into the City's capital plan. Whether it ends up 104 Maple Street W., Suite A Office: 715.268.7486 Amery, WI 54001 Fax: 715.268.4870 covering the full truck or just the balance after a grant, it would only move forward with separate Council and Committee approval. Recommendation 1. Accept the finding that the current ladder truck is beyond repair and approve its decommissioning. 2. Support the grant -first strategy: pursue the AFG application through Lexipol as the primary path to replacement funding. 3. Grant general consent to proceed with the grant application. If an AFG award, or a comparable grant, comes through, I will bring a follow -up request back to the Committee to approve accepting the award and financing the remaining balance, since even a maximum award will not cover the full cost.