Photo courtesy of city of Vestavia Hills.
The new, $1.2 million fire truck for the city of Vestavia Hills is shown in the parking lot of City Hall.
The Vestavia Hills Fire Department has acquired a new $1.2 million fire truck to serve the Liberty Park area out of Station No. 4, as well as new communications equipment.
The ladder truck is replacing an engine and is expected to be in service for 15 to 20 years. It’s needed due to the large number of existing and forthcoming multi-story buildings in the area, fire Capt. Scott Ferrell said. The truck is brand new and will be in service by the middle of May after personnel spend time training with it. The truck can carry a maximum of five fire service personnel and has a rear-mounted aerial ladder with red, white and blue lighting. It is a quint, meaning it has five operations: hose, water, pump, aerial ladder and a ground ladder.
The truck also should help the city’s rating from the Insurance Services Office, which affects homeowner’s insurance rates.
Fire Chief Marvin Green recently told the council the department wanted to upgrade its communications equipment with an additional $24,000 the department is receiving. The new equipment is a mobile repeater, which improves signal strength and communications, and will be on the new truck in Liberty Park.
In other city news, City Manager Jeff Downes recently told the council the city’s online sales tax revenues have increased substantially in recent years, from about $20,000 per month in 2017 and 2018 to about $90,000 in March 2020 and about $140,000 in March 2021.
Chief Financial Officer Melvin Turner said the city’s overall sales tax revenues are $1.1 million greater than last year for the first four months of fiscal 2021 (through the end of January) and $1.5 million greater than expected for the first four months in the 2021 budget.
Property tax revenues are about $570,000 greater than last year at this point and about $700,000 greater than expected in the 2021 budget so far, the financial report shows.
Overall revenues are $1.1 million greater than last year and $2.1 million greater than expected in the budget. Expenses are about $953,000 greater than last year for the first four months of the fiscal year and about $860,000 greater than expected in the budget so far.
The Vestavia Hills City Council in recent meetings:
► Annexed five homes at 3632 Dabney Drive, 1700 Shades Crest Road, 2829 Acton Place, 2632 Alta Vista Circle and 2600 Alta Vista Circle.
► Declared three Police Department 2015 Honda Goldwing motorcycles as surplus equipment due to a strategic decision by the department to replace motorcycles with Ford Interceptor vehicles, which Downes said are more versatile and safer vehicles. The motorcycles have 16,805 miles, 19,898 miles and 22,295 miles on them.
► Approved resolutions vacating a portion of Pine Tree Drive and allowing the city to determine the value of the property.
► Declared a water leak at City Hall an emergency to allow for funds to be spent to fix the issue.
The City Council planned to appoint a new Vestavia Hills Board of Education member at the April 26 meeting from a field of 11 candidates, but the May issue of the Vestavia Voice already had gone to print by that time. Visit vestaviavoice.com for up-to-date information on the appointment.
