The Tabernacle township committee announced plans to look into the purchase of a used fire truck from the Moorestown Fire Department at its most recent meeting on July 22.
Committeeman Joseph Barton received word that Moorestown was putting the truck up for public auction, so he reached out to them in hopes of seeing it before that process started.
Along with township administrator Doug Cramer, he met with the Moorestown Fire Department and got the opportunity to tour as well as learn more about the truck.
The truck is a 1998 model with approximately 32,000 miles on it, but, according Barton, the engine had been rebuilt recently so the vehicle is in better condition than its age would imply. Barton felt the truck could be purchased from Moorestown in the range of $50,000 to $75,000.
The township’s ability to purchase a new truck at all, though, is laced with potential roadblocks.
The Tabernacle Board of Fire Commissioners, a separate entity from the township, has tried in recent years to purchase a new truck but the public always has voted down the referendum.
Their most recent election on the issue scheduled for July 5 was cancelled due to a clerical error and rescheduled for Oct. 12.
Since the referendum had been voted down in the past, concerns were raised
at the meeting about the township potentially “circumventing” voters if they purchased the truck without including the fire commissioners.
“Certainly we don’t want to circumvent the residents at all, and it is vital that we work withthe commissioners’ board to investigate the truck and the potential purchase,” Mayor Stephen Lee said.
“There is still a lot of information that needs to be had before any decisions are made.”
Several members of the fire district were in attendance at the meeting and appeared stunned that the township had been looking into this without consulting them.
“I’m disappointed we were not approached about this or even kept in the loop,” said a visibly upset Nancy Freeman, who serves as treasurer on the board of fire commissioners.
Previously, both the fire district and the township have discussed keeping a truck in the new emergency services building for a quicker response to emergencies in the eastern part of the township, and this new truck could potentially serve that purpose.
No official decisions were made at the meeting other than Lee instructing Barton to make sure the fire district was kept apprised as the process moved forward.
Moorestown has already phased the truck out of regular use, so the sale could be made at any time.
