The Jerome Township Trustees grappled with how much control they should have over the action of department heads, as they voted against hearing a presentation from Fire Chief Douglas Stewart Tuesday.
The board voted unanimously to table a presentation regarding the recommended purchase of a new aerial ladder truck from Pierce Manufacturing.
Trustees Megan Sloat and Barry Adler earlier said they were amenable to hearing Stewart’s presentation, though they likely would not immediately take any action, but Trustee Wezlynn Davis pushed aggressively to stall it entirely.
As the first slide of his presentation was on screens in the township hall and trustees held print-outs of the PowerPoint, Davis told Stewart that she was “not ready for a presentation that will result in a recommendation.”
She said the trustees received the full presentation via email just before the Fourth of July holiday weekend and she did not have time to review it prior to the meeting.
Stewart emphasized that plans to purchase a new aerial ladder truck have “been in process” since he was hired several years ago.
“This was not a surprise. We talked about this many, many months ago,” he told Davis.
The fire chief also said he did not expect a decision to be made, but wanted to share details from his research and the resulting recommendation because the lead time for orders and prices continue to increase.
Adler said on multiple occasions that he would like to hear the presentation from Stewart, which “might be helpful for future discussions.”
“He’s asking us to hear him out… he’s not asking us to make a decision at this point,” Adler said to Davis.
Still, Davis was adamant that she felt it was inappropriate for Stewart to bring a recommendation before the board at that point.
She said she wanted more time to formulate questions about each of the two manufacturers that were considered by the fire department.
“I’m asking you to give that respect,” she told Stewart.
In response, he told Davis that the presentation included information from a questionnaire completed by both aerial ladder makers. He said those details would be helpful in the board’s considerations.
Stewart said Wednesday morning that the questionnaire was sent to two companies that have service centers in Ohio: Pierce Manufacturing and Sutphen.
He said the survey included questions surrounding safety, warranties, standard equipment included, operability and quality control of factories. It did not address cost, aside from a “ballpark” price.
It was distributed in May and both manufacturers were given five weeks to respond, Stewart said.
The fire chief explained that the responses were labeled as “Manufacturer A” and “Manufacturer B” in an attempt to evaluate the aerial ladder trucks in an unbiased manner.
Based on the questionnaire, he said he recommended purchasing a truck from Pierce Manufacturing.
During the meeting Tuesday, he said he desired to bring before the board a recommendation for the safest, “most appropriate” aerial ladder that fell within budget.
“Isn’t that the most important thing?” he asked Davis.
She disagreed, saying that the trustees should have further input on what will be a nearly $1.6 million purchase. Davis added that she wanted more information on “the use of aerial (ladder trucks) in the first place and the need.”
Stewart said just as she asked for the “respect” given by an opportunity to ask questions, he would like the chance to share information he gathered.
“I’d appreciate the same respect shown to me,” he said.
Stewart added that Davis in March presented the board with her recommendations to purchase three lawn mowers from a company that provided a higher bid than others, without the amount of detail he was attempting to share.
“With all due respect ma’am, we didn’t have to jump through all these hoops,” he said.
Davis interjected to say she felt the scenarios were as different as “apples and oranges.”
In what Sloat called an attempt to “toe the line” between the different opinions of her fellow trustees, she asked Davis if she would be open to hearing Stewart’s presentation without a recommendation.
Davis continued to express strong opposition, prompting Sloat to place her head in her hands and say, “I don’t know.”
“I don’t understand why it’s so offensive that I would like an opportunity to ask questions about both manufacturers,” Davis said.
She then motioned to table the presentation because it was not specifically listed on the agenda.
Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell, who takes the minutes, called it a “dangerous motion.”
“This board has consistently discussed things that are not on the agenda,” Caldwell said.
Davis then switched her motion to table the presentation to allow more time to review the information.
Sloat told Davis that she was confused by whether she needed more time to consider the information included by Stewart or because she needed more information that was not available.
“Well, it could be a little bit of both,” she responded.
After the board voted in favor of her motion, Stewart asked Davis that the information included in his presentation is not shared with either vendor so that no manufacturer is given an “unfair advantage.”
“Are you implying that a trustee would share answers with a vendor?” she asked Stewart.
However, following other business throughout the meeting and just before adjourning, Davis told Stewart that “it is public record” and a vendor may access the information.
The trustees said Stewart will share the presentation at the Aug. 2 meeting, as Davis said she will be absent at the next meeting, July 19, to celebrate her son’s birthday.