Phillips approves fire truck purchase

PHILLIPS — The city of Phillips Committee of the Whole approved the purchase of a new fire truck at its May 7 meeting.

The total purchase price of the truck, to include the chassis, all equipment and other preparation is approximately $779,000, according to Phillips City Clerk Shelby Kosmer. Roughly $126,000 of the amount is for the chassis itself that was ordered in 2023 and is paid for out of the fire department equipment savings fund.

“We may potentially be only financing the truck that was roughly $550,000, but we are waiting to see what the financing aspect will look like to see if we will borrow to cover the other equipment as well or use the savings fund,” Kosmer said after the meeting.

The two-door Freightliner M2 106 chassis will be fitted with a fire truck and 1,500 gallon water tank.

The new truck is not replacing another truck that is currently in service, according to Fire Chief David Lontcoski. It will fill a vacancy from a truck that was put out of service years ago.

The current pumper truck is 40 years old and to continue to use it as the primary fire engine would lower the station’s insurance rating and result in an increase in costs for the fire district.

Once a fire truck is 25 years old it affects the insurance rating, he said. The station can continue to use the truck if it’s operational but it will have an impact on the rating.

In other business the committee approved an ordinance for the designation of an all-terrain vehicle/utility terrain vehicle (ATV/UTV) route from north Phillips to downtown via State Highway 13 where the Elk/Duroy lakes bridge has so far required ATV/UTV traffic to re-route along the airport roads County H. The ordinance grants access to the shoulder of State Highway 13 from County Road F and South Airport Road in order to cross the highway bridge to the south and depart the highway at Fayette Street. Riders from Fayette Street would be allowed access to go north.

The city council approved a committee recommendation for the resolution in March. Before the resolution can be put into effect, the Price County Highway Department, the Price County Board and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will need to review and approve the plan.

“It is my understanding that the (Northwoods Range Rovers ATV/UTV Club) will now present our ordinance to the county to see if they will pass something similar,” Kosmer said. “So that particular route is not completely approved yet as the city and county must have something passed together to authorize a route.”

The committee approved the re-appointment of Brittany Weisrock to the Phillips Public Library Board.

The committee went into executive session to hold interviews for a full time police officer position. There is one more interview scheduled.

In his report to the committee, Police Chief Michael Hauschild said that Joseph Lillie has accepted a part-time position with the department. Lillie has prior service as a Price County Sheriff’s Office deputy and had retired until recently returning to the workforce, he said.

Hauschild also noted there were 167 calls for service in April, compared to 146 in April 2023. There are 615 calls for service so far from January through April, as compared to 578 during the same period in 2023.