From left, Fire Chief Mike Wilson speaks while City Attorney Scott Reust and Mayor Joe Thallemer listen Friday during the Warsaw Board of Works meeting.

Editor’s note: Due to a mistaken comment at the meeting, the original version of this story incorrectly mentioned the number of miles the old fire truck has logged. The correct number is about 82,000 miles. InkFreeNews regrets the error.

WARSAW — Plans have been finalized for the purchase of a new rescue fire truck for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, but don’t look for this new vehicle anytime soon.

The arrival of the new truck at its new home at Fire Station No. 3 is still a full year away, according to Fire Chief Mike Wilson.

The city board of works and safety approved the purchase of the fire truck Friday, July 5.

Cost of the truck is $672,774. The city was assisted in the purchase by Sourcewell, a bidding agency that helps coordinate preparation of specifications. The Minnesota firm specializes in bids for fire apparatus.

The purchase is through Smeal, a division of Spartan Motors, which has an office in Charlotte, Mich.

The future truck will be housed in the relatively new fire station on the south side of the fire territory and will be equipped to fight fires and carry equipment for rescues.

It will replace a truck that is about ten years old and has about 82,000 miles logged. The existing vehicle will become a reserve vehicle used when other trucks are out of service.

The move by the board of works comes three days after the fire territory approved the plans. Money for the purchase will come from a fund used for replacement of vehicles.

Action on the fire truck was one of three big contractual arrangements approved by the board Friday.

The board also approved the purchase of four police cars from Kerlin Motor Company, Silver Lake, for a total cost of $140,757.72, which was less than $100 above the lowest bid, which came from Bloomington Ford. Also bidding was Rice Ford, which offered to sell the four cars for $142,560.

Kerlin and Rice both asked that the 1 percent preference be applied to their bids.

The 1 percent discount is applied to the bid for comparative purposes, a move allowed by the state to provide bidders from within the county an extra edge in consideration. The actual cost of the winning bid will not be reduced by 1 percent.

In another contractual decision, the board accepted the lone bid offered on the Lucern Park amphitheater project. The original bid from Roche Constructors, Inc., Warsaw, exceeded the amount set aside for the project. As a result, the city worked with the contractor to reduce the costs of the project by $40,000 by eliminating the top two of six rows of seats that were going to be constructed.

The change will reduce seating from 350 to 200, but Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said room will remain available for lawn chairs.

The original bid amount was $208,700.00, but the change order will reduce the cost to about $166,751, according to paperwork provided by the city.