The U.S./Canada dollar exchange rate is causing Canmore’s newest fire pumper truck to go up in price.
Council approved the purchase of a lifecycle replacement pumper truck in the 2015 capital budget after deferring acquiring the vehicle for several years.
With an approved budget of $535,000, Fire Chief Todd Sikorsky said a request for proposals sent out to fire apparatus manufacturers resulted in only two responses and both were over budget as a result of the U.S. exchange rate.
“This project has been on the books for quite a few years, it has been debated, talked about and pushed back,” Sikorsky said. “We received two bid proposals on the RFP and both those manufacturers were above the budgeted amount. What we are really fighting with this year is the exchange rate, which is at an 11 year low and really volatile.”
He told council every cent difference in the exchange rate changes the truck price by $5,000. He requested council approve a budget price in U.S. dollars along with additional funds for delivery, brokerage and equipment costs to not exceed $40,000.
Sikorsky said from the time the pumper truck is ordered it takes 300 days for it to be ready for pickup and it is impossible to tell what the exchange rate would be at that time.
As for delaying the project again, Sikorsky said the unit the new truck will replace has already failed to make it up steep hills three times this winter, which is a cause for concern.
Pumper 32, as it is called within the department, is the smaller truck that often responds first to calls whether they are structure fires, medical first response or backcountry rescues. Its capacity to pump water, however, is limited and the new vehicle will correct that deficiency, increase its capacity from two firefighters to four and be used for daily activities such as inspections and education.
