Fire district seeks approval to use school district fuel
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella informed the Board of Education at a recent meeting that Jackson Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 Fire Chief Kenny Byrnes has asked if Fire District No. 3, which has six vehicles, can use the school district's gas/diesel pumping facility.

"They are willing to pay for any expense we have," Gialanella said. "They believe they can save about 15 cents to 20 cents a gallon from what they are paying right now."

At the present time, Fire District No. 3 is using the township's pumping facility to fill its vehicles.

Gialanella said the fire vehicles only need 87 octane gas and the township facility pumps 89 octane gas.

"There's a 15-cent difference," Gialanella said. "Chief Burns told me they are paying for something they don't need. There is an additional 5 percent administration fee that the town charges them."

Gialanella said Fire District No. 3 officials are willing to pay an administration fee to the school district if the board allows them to use the gas pumps.

"The basic reason for the request is because we pump 87 octane," the superintendent said. "They use about 2,500 gallons per quarter and they are willing to abide by the restrictions that the transportation department puts on them."

With the exception of emergencies, the fire district's vehicles would not be filled up between 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Gialanella said.

"They will not be in our way," the superintendent told the board. "Our pumps are open 24 hours a day and they can come any time after that and use them. It's all computer generated and key operated, so we can run reports on what they are using and what we are using."

He called it a shared service that will not interfere with school district transportation. Gialanella said he will also discuss the matter with municipal officials. He said he was concerned that Jackson's other fire districts may want to do this and said it may not be feasible.

An immediate decision is not necessary, he said, and the board members may consider how they would like to address the request from Fire District No. 3.

Board Vice President Barbara Fiero asked if the school district would get a cheaper price if they used more fuel and was told that question would be looked into.

In other business, the superintendent reported on the progress of recent construction projects.

"The work at Jackson Memorial High School is ahead of schedule and there is only one bathroom in the B Wing that is still not done. All the others have been completed," he said, adding that the unfinished bathroom should be completed in about a week.

"The maintenance building (to be constructed) at Jackson Liberty High School is awaiting permits," Gialanella said. "We went down today and set up some permits, so that's moving ahead."

Specifications for sprinklers, wells and electric service for the fields at Jackson Liberty will be redesigned and re-bid, he said.

At McAuliffe Middle School, all projects have been completed and were on budget, the superintendent said.

Gialanella asked John Lamela, the director of human resources, for a list of all projects that were completed during the summer, including work that was completed at the Rosenauer and Switlik schools. That list is expected to be available at the next board meeting.