Silver Lake Discusses New Radios For First Responders
February 11, 2021 at 5:22 a.m.
By Amanda Bridgman-
Town Marshal Jason McGlennen told the Council the department received the radio grant they applied for, but what he did not realize when applying was that it is a reimbursement grant. The grant is issued quarterly, and the upfront cost will be roughly $45,000, McGlennen said. That cost includes everything from the new equipment to installation, and a reimbursement check for 100% of the amount would come back to the town shortly thereafter.
The Council agreed to continue conversations with McGlennen about when to order, with him saying they could do it by the July deadline if the Council thought that would work.
Silver Lake Fire Chief John Conley said the radio equipment at the fire department currently works with the county’s new system. However, Conley said looking to the future, he’s not sure if anything could change in the county’s system that could then render the equipment useless.
“At any point in time, the county can say we’re changing (something),” Conley said. “Nothing’s saying they will, and there’s also nothing saying they won’t.”
Conley said the North Webster Fire Department is applying for a federal grant that would have a 10% match. The total cost to replace everything at the SLFD and get new pagers, radios and in-truck systems would be around $140,000, making 10% of that $14,000, Conley said.
“Since it’s that big of an amount, I’m gonna need approval from you guys, if the county happens to get the grant, then you guys are willing to back half of the 10%,” Conley said.
“That’s not much to spend to get new equipment,” Council President Hugh Murfin said.
Conley said the rush to do it is because with the county’s new system, the equipment is available at a deep discount, nearly 50%. He also said the newest radio SLFD has is about 10 years old.
The Council approved to do the match for the grant.
Conley then told the Council something to keep in mind is if the county doesn’t get the grant, that he’s heard the county council is willing to loan the townships money to cover the cost. The county would need to be paid back over three years.
“Let’s shoot for the grant and see what’s coming,” Murfin said.
Conley also told the Council he is planning for fire truck pump training for the department in June with Dunny’s Pump Service out of Syracuse.
“It would be a whole weekend for everyone on the department,” Conley said. “The training goes more in depth in the pump operations than what we normally do with our actual training. We’ll do a lot more about pumps making noises so if we have an issue on the scene then hopefully all of our guys would be able to self-diagnose it and fix it on scene, because once a pump starts making noise on a scene, we just hope it works until the fire’s out, because shutting it down, we may not get it started again.”
Also Wednesday, the Council:
• Heard from Street and Sewer Superintendent J.P. Prater there is a crack in the sewer main and AIRVAC will come out in the spring to help find the crack. The system is still working fine, pumps are just running longer, Prater said.
Prater also reported on a quote he received for a new leaf vac. Cost for the one he wants is $77,081.24. No action was taken on the leaf vac Wednesday.
• Approved to extend the yearly farmland contract to five years instead of just one. The farmland contract refers to the farmland behind the fire station that the town rents out every year through a sealed bidding process to anyone who wants to farm the land. Usually, the town does this every year, but the state says if the council approves to make the contract longer, they can.
• Approved to have SKRM Architecture from Warsaw do the structural reports on seven buildings downtown for $10,500. Those reports will help the town - and the building owners - find out the shape of the buildings in order to be able to apply for a facade grant with Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation. The building owners will have to make a financial commitment as part of the grant.
“We’ll see if we can get Silver Lake fixed up and get people to want to live here more,” Murfin said.
The next Silver Lake Town Council meeting is 7 p.m. March 10 at Town Hall.
Town Marshal Jason McGlennen told the Council the department received the radio grant they applied for, but what he did not realize when applying was that it is a reimbursement grant. The grant is issued quarterly, and the upfront cost will be roughly $45,000, McGlennen said. That cost includes everything from the new equipment to installation, and a reimbursement check for 100% of the amount would come back to the town shortly thereafter.
The Council agreed to continue conversations with McGlennen about when to order, with him saying they could do it by the July deadline if the Council thought that would work.
Silver Lake Fire Chief John Conley said the radio equipment at the fire department currently works with the county’s new system. However, Conley said looking to the future, he’s not sure if anything could change in the county’s system that could then render the equipment useless.
“At any point in time, the county can say we’re changing (something),” Conley said. “Nothing’s saying they will, and there’s also nothing saying they won’t.”
Conley said the North Webster Fire Department is applying for a federal grant that would have a 10% match. The total cost to replace everything at the SLFD and get new pagers, radios and in-truck systems would be around $140,000, making 10% of that $14,000, Conley said.
“Since it’s that big of an amount, I’m gonna need approval from you guys, if the county happens to get the grant, then you guys are willing to back half of the 10%,” Conley said.
“That’s not much to spend to get new equipment,” Council President Hugh Murfin said.
Conley said the rush to do it is because with the county’s new system, the equipment is available at a deep discount, nearly 50%. He also said the newest radio SLFD has is about 10 years old.
The Council approved to do the match for the grant.
Conley then told the Council something to keep in mind is if the county doesn’t get the grant, that he’s heard the county council is willing to loan the townships money to cover the cost. The county would need to be paid back over three years.
“Let’s shoot for the grant and see what’s coming,” Murfin said.
Conley also told the Council he is planning for fire truck pump training for the department in June with Dunny’s Pump Service out of Syracuse.
“It would be a whole weekend for everyone on the department,” Conley said. “The training goes more in depth in the pump operations than what we normally do with our actual training. We’ll do a lot more about pumps making noises so if we have an issue on the scene then hopefully all of our guys would be able to self-diagnose it and fix it on scene, because once a pump starts making noise on a scene, we just hope it works until the fire’s out, because shutting it down, we may not get it started again.”
Also Wednesday, the Council:
• Heard from Street and Sewer Superintendent J.P. Prater there is a crack in the sewer main and AIRVAC will come out in the spring to help find the crack. The system is still working fine, pumps are just running longer, Prater said.
Prater also reported on a quote he received for a new leaf vac. Cost for the one he wants is $77,081.24. No action was taken on the leaf vac Wednesday.
• Approved to extend the yearly farmland contract to five years instead of just one. The farmland contract refers to the farmland behind the fire station that the town rents out every year through a sealed bidding process to anyone who wants to farm the land. Usually, the town does this every year, but the state says if the council approves to make the contract longer, they can.
• Approved to have SKRM Architecture from Warsaw do the structural reports on seven buildings downtown for $10,500. Those reports will help the town - and the building owners - find out the shape of the buildings in order to be able to apply for a facade grant with Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation. The building owners will have to make a financial commitment as part of the grant.
“We’ll see if we can get Silver Lake fixed up and get people to want to live here more,” Murfin said.
The next Silver Lake Town Council meeting is 7 p.m. March 10 at Town Hall.
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