City Gets Rolling With New Wheels

By Teresa Rochester

The city is getting a new set of wheels -- 21 new sets of wheels to be exact.

Stray dogs, cats and other assorted animals will now be picked up in one of two new 3/4 ton 4x4 pickup trucks with animal control enclosures.

The fire department will now be able to respond to emergencies, involving collapsed structures and trenches in a brand new $242,000 diesel-powered, urban search and rescue vehicle.

And transportation department employees can now tool around town, supervising bus pool vehicles in eight new compressed natural gas sedans, all thanks to the City Council's approval of the purchases totaling $2.998 million Tuesday night.

The Big Blue Bus is the single biggest beneficiary of the council's rubber stamp. Ten new, small, 26-passenger, low-floor buses will be added to the department's fleet on lease to the tune of $2.4 million.

The city is leasing the environmentally-kinder and smaller buses because there currently aren't any companies that make low emission liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas that are small and low-floored. The little blue buses are ideal for residential streets and will also enable Big Blue Bus to free up large buses and complete scheduled maintenance work and service replacements in a timely manner.

"We're planning to use them in residential streets," said Big Blue Bus spokesperson Cynthia Gibbons. "These are more manageable than the bigger buses. These have the cleanest fuel and are the most reliable right now. We figure by the time the lease is over the fuel efficiency will be better."

The city's car buying binge is part of its fleet vehicle replacement program, which replaces older vehicles in the city's fleet.

The fire department's new urban search and rescue vehicle will replace a 27-year-old rescue chassis supporting a 59-year-old compartment body, according to a staff report. The police department's new animal control trucks will replace the 1989 Ford Rangers that are no longer cost effective to maintain.

The council also approved the purchase of a new diesel-powered mobile hydraulic hammer for $69,974. The hammer is used to break asphalt, concrete and soil and will replace the 11-year-old hammer that is currently in use.