Kodiak Assembly weighs $70,919 fire and rescue UTV for Women's Bay

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will consider a $70,919.05 purchase of a department-owned Polaris Ranger Glacier HD XP1000 for the Women's Bay Fire Department. The vote comes at the assembly's meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. Borough staff recommend authorizing the purchase. The meeting airs on KMXT 100.1 FM and YouTube.

"For years personnel have used personal ATVs/UTVs to reach off-road incidents," David Conrad, the department's chief officer, wrote the assembly. Those units "vary in capability, safety equipment, and availability," he said.

Women's Bay fights road-system wildland fires under an agreement with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry, Kenai/Kodiak Division. The vehicle would carry a Fire and Rescue Combo Skid with a rescue litter, a 60-gallon water tank and a Waterax Versax pump, plus a winch and a snow plow.

The department would pay from its fund balance through the Sourcewell cooperative contract. Staff first sought the purchase in January but delayed it because of delivery times and the budget cycle. The Women's Bay Service Area Board approved it Sept. 1, with a not-to-exceed limit of $100,000.

Bayside Fire Chief Scott M. Ellis backed the purchase, citing interoperability. "The BFD and WBFD are currently enhancing our day to day interoperability and cooperation," he said. The Polaris quote expires Oct. 17.