Streetsboro City Council Voted in Favor of Improving the Cities Fire Department
Many improvements are coming to the city of Streetsboro after City Council approves multiple new purchases to better the city.
On November 9th, 2020, Streetsboro City Council started the meeting by amending an ordinance that approved a new fire prevention vehicle purchase and new turnout gear for the Streetsboro Fire Department.
“They turned in a 2009 Ford Fusion which is a little car, and they are getting a Ford Explorer which is more of an SUV,” Council Vice President Jon Hannan said. “This is so that when people are coming back from a fire or going out in their gear, they can fit into the front or the back of the car.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), turnout gear such as suspenders has a shelf life of 10 years before they need to be replaced. The city already has the money set aside in its budget to purchase and replace these 10 sets of turnout gear.
“We do this pretty much every year,” Hannan said. “We approve the purchase of 10 sets. The reason we do that is because if we buy 50 sets of turnout gear at one time versus 10 sets every year and phase other sets out, it’s a little cheaper over time.”
Streetsboro City Council also accepted a donation of a Clow Fire Hydrant. This specific brand was designed and built to provide unsurpassed fire protection. The city believes that the installation of this fire hydrant will be beneficial down the road.
“Pretty much every year, different companies that make fire hydrants will reach out to us, and they’ll donate one, and we’ll install it in different parts of the city,” Hannan said. “That way, the people installing the fire hydrants can learn how they work and give feedback to the company. Our service department, who is installing those, can see what they like about the different fire hydrants and which one we want to use going forward.”
The meeting switched gears from fire-related improvements to a COVID-19 related upgrade in the city park. The city will be installing touchless plumbing fixtures at its city park. These will be touchless outdoor water fountains, toilets, and sinks installed in the city park bathrooms and where the existing curb water fountains currently reside.
“Our bathrooms needed to be updated anyways at the city park, Hannan said. “We’re doing this because we got some money through the CARES Act. They are trying to limit high touch surfaces. Anytime someone would have to touch a sink handle or flush a toilet now, it’s just all automatic.”
This purchase will be covered by CARES Act funding the city has received. This is considered an allowable expense under the CARES Act because it is converting from none touchless to touchless.
A purchase of upgraded computer servers was also approved to be made before January. The city received a quote from Dell that if the purchase were made in 2020, it would be $7,000 cheaper. This was a necessary upgrade for city employees to allow all departments to communicate and share files.
