The Morongo Valley Community Services District held a special meeting last night to talk engine repairs and potential litigation. For the coverage, we go to reporter Jef Harmatz…
The Morongo Valley CSD met in special session last night (March 7) to make a decision on engine repairs and conference with legal counsel for potential litigation. During the open session, the board discussed possible options for engine repairs and was approached with an opportunity that would help the department in many ways. With engine repairs looking to cost north of $40,000 and take many months, the fire department will acquire a used 1996 type 1 engine with 15,000 miles from Speedway Fire and Rescue for $6,000 down and $4,000 monthly for three and a half months. This $20,000 sum will be paid in lieu of leasing an engine, which would have a similar cost, except this way the fire department will keep the vehicle and be able to add a reserve engine to their fleet and secure more fire coverage for Morongo Valley. When discussing repairs to the current engine at the center of the situation, a newly hired engineer for the Morongo Valley Fire Department cited a severe lack in preventative maintenance by previous management as the cause of the high price tag for repairs. With the new-to-them engine on the way, the department will seek more competitive bids to repair the faulty engine. Following a 3-1 vote (Dir. Tolbert – absent, Dir. Henning – abstaining), the board approved the purchase of the used engine from Speedway Fire and Rescue and adjourned to closed session to discuss potential litigation. Following the closed session, the board reported that they rejected a complaint and will send notice of the rejection to the appropriate party and no action was taken on a second item of potential litigation.
