September 16th will determine whether Decorah buys an aerial ladder fire truck from Indianola

A photo of the type of fire truck Decorah wants to buy from Indianola

Decorah could be getting a new aerial ladder fire truck by the end of September.

The Decorah City Council last month approved a motion to pay the City of Indianola $900,000 for its current aerial ladder fire truck.  Now it appears that sale could be finalized later this month and the fire truck could be heading this way.

Decorah Fire Department officials say the fire truck is needed because of the problems being experienced with the current 1999 aerial ladder truck.  The fire department had planned on asking the city council for money for a new aerial ladder truck in a couple of years, but that timetable got moved up when firefighters learned they could save $500,000 by buying the used truck from Indianola.

Indianola City Administrator Ryan Waller says city officials have held off on contacting Decorah officials in the last couple of weeks, to give Decorah time to cope with flooding problems.  But Waller says the Indianola City council has scheduled a vote on the sale on September 16th.  That's the same night the Decorah City Council has scheduled a public hearing on a proposal to issue general obligation bonds up to $900,000 for the purchase of the fire truck.

Waller says he expects Indianola City Council approval of the sale on September 16th, since there have been discussions in the community this month of how to use the $900,000 proceeds from the sale.