By Cecilia Nasmith

Cobourg's interim Fire Chief Ellard Beaven appeared at council this week and explained why it might be best to move promptly on securing a new pumper in spite of having received only one bid.

One reason is that the department has put $62,000 into repairing their current apparatus – a 2010 Spartan pumper – over the past three years.

“The longer we continue using this apparatus, obviously, this will increase,” he predicted.

“We have spent $8,700 already for 2022.

“This is something we have to look at and get this started,” Beaven urged, adding that – at this time – actual delivery of the vehicle is estimated to take 700 days from the time of order.

“Thanks to COVID and supply-chain issues,” he explained.

“That's incredible!” Mayor John Henderson declared.

“Seven hundred days – it just seems to be getting worse.”

The tender for replacement brought in only one bid, even when the one-month period was extended two more weeks.
Council passed the motion to direct staff to open and evaluate that single bid, and prepare a report to council with a recommendation on whether to accept that bid.