One of the two firetrucks the city had up for grabs is still homeless. It will be placed on govdeals.com for the general public to bid on.
The city was slated to provide, free of charge, a 1972 firetruck to Rock Island Fire Department and a 1978 firetruck to North Warren Volunteer Fire Department.
Opting out was North Warren for engine No. 6.
“They said they would like to have it, but as it turns out their building is too small and they don’t have the money to build onto it to make it bigger so they declined to take it,” said McMinnville Fire Chief Kendall Mayfield. “I guess we need to put it on govdeals. I’ve had other departments outside Warren County asking about it. They can fight over it then.”
Safety Committee members Mike Neal and Ryle Chastain met Tuesday to consider the fate of the truck. Alderman Everett Brock was absent.
Neal asked about placing a minimum bid. “Do we need to set a minimum bid on this or just put it on there and whatever it bring, it brings. How does this work? What’s it worth, Kendall?”
Mayfield says the truck is worth at least $2,500.
“I’ve been online trying to look back and see what other engines were valued at but I couldn’t find any that old,” Mayfield said. “I think it’s worth at least $2,500. We can put whatever minimum bid you want to put.”
Chastain offered to buy it for $1, which brought a round of laughter.
“Yeah, go ahead and put it on the government website, set the minimum bid at $2,500 and see what happens,” said Chastain.
The motion passed unanimously.