POTTERVILLE, Mich. — The fate of the Potterville City Fire Department is coming into question.
A very important piece of equipment went out of service for the department last week. City council now has to decide what to do next and outsourcing the fire department is not out of the question.
One of the Potterville Fire's two trucks failed its Michigan Department of Transportation inspection last Wednesday.
"There's a lot of work that needs to be done with it and it's a fairly old truck and it's really not worth putting the money into it so we went to seek another option," said Ryan Lundquist, Fire Chief of the Potterville City Fire Department.
The fire chief said he went to the city to get the 25-year-old truck with a $275,000 price tag replaced.
City council will take up the issue on next week's agenda. They'll discuss whether the truck should be repaired, refurbished, or replaced.
Another option may be put on the table which is dissolving the fire department and contracting with Benton Township Fire.
Aaron Sheridan, City Manager, said he hasn't heard from city leadership about a contract bid, nor has he gotten one from Benton Township.
But council member, Katherine Schmidt said she and council member Jeff Bussard have asked the discussion of outsourcing be added to the agenda, so the council can determine if it wants to continue to have a city fire department.
Lundquist said his team is passionate about serving the community and hopes council members will support buying a new truck.
"I got 13 individuals that don't want to give up. That don't want to be forced to give up. Everybody loves the community. Everybody on my department loves working for the Potterville City Fire Department," Lundquist said.
The city's mutual aid partners: the City of Charlotte, Windsor Township and Benton Township have been stepping in to help Potterville.
The city council meeting will be next Thursday, March 21st at 7 pm.
People can also reach out and share their opinions prior to the meeting with the Council, whose contact information can be found here.
