The Nevis City Council voted on Monday, August 12, to purchase a new public works pickup truck and a used fire engine, as well as to convert an old emergency vehicle into a wildfire vehicle.

Public Works Director Don Umthun recommended the lower bid of $49,390 for a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD one-ton regular cab four-wheel-drive work truck in stock at Thielen Motors in Park Rapids.

Marthaler Chevrolet in Glenwood also had a slightly higher offer for a truck.

“I would recommend contacting Thielen,” said Umthun. “We bought our last two from them and it’s nice to work with a local dealer.”

He said adding a snow plow to the new truck would probably cost another $10,000.

To finance the purchase, Umthun said his department will use $25,000 it has saved from its budget over the past five years, plus the trade-in value of the old truck – a 2019 model with a Blue Book value of $44,000 – along with the snow plow. “We’re hoping to get a somewhat decent value out of this,” he said, adding that any shortfall could be covered by savings in water and sewer funds.

Next, Umthun presented a quote from Minnesota Pump Works to replace the impeller and hardware at Sewage Lift Station 6 for $2,807, including labor.

Umthun said that pumping station serves most of the city, which is everything west of the city liquor store. He said the pumps were only installed three to four years ago, but this spring something like a rock or piece of metal got into the system and damaged both of the pump’s impellers before it could be contained.

To explain why he only submitted one bid, Umthun said Minnesota Pump Works is the company that installed the pumps three years ago and the parts are site-specific. “We’re kind of locked in,” he said.

Third, Umthun presented a $6,185 bid from Minnesota Pump Works to replace the controls at Pump Station No. 8. “Again, it’s site-specific,” he said, “it’s the same company we use to install these pumps.”

He said the offer was “on the higher end” and included about $1,000 for “a second technician with a service vehicle, if needed, to go into the basin and pull the transducer and float cables.” Umthun said he hoped that would not be necessary.

Umthun described the area served by this lift station as the Bullwinkle’s area.

Council member Teresa Leshovsky made a motion to approve all three purchases, which was passed 4-0 in the absence of Mayor Jeanne Thompson.

Fire Chief Brent Nicklason reported that the fire department has the opportunity to purchase a used fire engine – a tender or tanker that the fire department needs.

Nicklason shared an ad for a 1999 International 4900 in Hawley that is for sale for $50,000 with a 500-gallon tank, 300-gallon-per-minute pump and low mileage.

“I took three firefighters with me and we looked at it and drove it,” he said. “It’s a very nice truck. It’s very well maintained. The most important thing for us is that it has an automatic transmission.”

Nicklason said the fire department’s two current vehicles are equipped with a manual transmission, which is drivable for most firefighters but not very comfortable.

“It would be a big improvement,” he said, adding that it was a short-term replacement but that a new truck could cost around $500,000. He also showed the council examples of similar used tankers that cost around $150,000.

“There are a lot of used fire trucks on the market,” Nicklason said. “There are very few deals. Most used fire trucks are pumps and other equipment. … When (deals) become available, they are not cheap.”

Nicklason said the Nevis Volunteer Firepersons Relief Association could contribute $15,000 in donations toward the purchase, with the rest coming from the fire department’s savings.

Council member Blair Reuther’s motion to approve the purchase was passed 4-0.

Nicklason reminded the council that the fire department had received a new emergency vehicle last year. He suggested converting the old emergency vehicle.

“It’s a solid truck,” he said. “It’s in great shape. It runs great. Instead of throwing it away, we all decided to convert it into a wildland truck.”

He added that they want to keep it because it is a crew cab truck, while the department’s other wildland truck has a regular cab, making it multifunctional and able to carry more firefighters.

Nicklason said the conversion would involve removing the truck’s fiberglass body, installing an aluminum bed and mounting a pump on the back.

He presented bids from Bert’s Truck Equipment of Moorhead, Visto’s Trailer Sales of West Fargo, ND, and King of the Road Trailers of Bemidji. He recommended King of the Road’s bid of $8,248, which did not include removal of the old truck body.

Nicklason said the fire department has the resources to rebuild. Reuther’s motion to get the job done was passed 4-0.