Turkey Creek Fire Board made short work of it Monday night, receiving Fire Chief Mickey Scott’s monthly report, approving a bid for a new brush fire truck and voting to continue Steve Snyder as a board member.

The agenda’s most significant item involved the purchase of a new grass fire truck. The department received a bid of $100,865 from a vendor in Waterloo, and the board voted to accept that bid. The department had allotted $120,000 in its 2014 equipment replacement fund for the purchase.

The board briefly discussed what to do with the old truck, a 1998 four-wheel drive pickup whose resale value was somewhat diminished when its bed and tailgate were removed to accommodate a slide-in unit for firefighting purposes. “If there is value to the department,” said board president Kimberly Cates, “we’ll keep it.” She asked Scott to present alternatives at January’s meeting for the truck’s disposition.

“(Turkey Creek Fire Territory) Station 1 is done,” Scott reported during the 23-minute session. The final renovation item, that of replacing two overhead door openers, was recently completed, with total costs coming in within 3 percent of the original $550,000 estimate. The department is awaiting the final invoice of $21,723.95.

The department responded to 19 fire calls and 79 EMS calls in November. Three structure fires during the month caused $60,000 in property damage. Through the end of November, the department responded to 1,158 calls (184 fire, 974 EMS).

Finances are “good” according the Scott, who noted the department has used only 61 percent of its allotted budget through the first 11 months of the year.

That number will change somewhat in December, when “a lot of money comes out for holiday and overtime pay,” Scott noted. The department has not yet used any of its 2014 holiday pay allotment.

Personnel insurance premiums decreased during the year, with the department receiving more than $6,000 in refunds after moving to the state-sponsored 77 PERF program. The savings more than offset next year’s $793 increase in insurance prompted by the June replacement of a 1992 equipment truck with a 2015 vehicle.

Overall, next year’s insurance premiums will be nearly $8,000 less than those paid in 2014.

The department will host it annual awards banquet Saturday evening, where various firefighters will receive recognition for their performance during the year.

The board will next meet at 6:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at Syracuse Town Hall.