NORWICH - City officials will jumpstart the process for purchasing five new pieces of equipment for the city's volunteer fire departments on Tuesday.

At the November referendum, voters approved bonding $3.2 million for the replacement of fire equipment, and the City Council is scheduled to discuss the bid process at Tuesday's meeting. Four volunteer departments are on the list for new trucks: East Great Plain, Laurel Hill, Taftville and Yantic. Three vehicles at the Taftville department will be replaced by two capable of providing consolidated services.

The youngest truck up for replacement is a 17-year-old engine truck with increasing mechanical issues. The oldest is a 38-year-old vehicle that leaks oil and has improper restraints but also, due to the age of the truck, replacement parts are becoming increasingly hard to come by.

Tuesday's meeting will officially open the city's request for proposal process, Mayor Peter Nystrom said, calling the agenda item a "formality."

Fire departments and the Public Works Fleet Maintenance division have already established a list of qualifiers for the purchases, including preferred vendors, style of equipment and lighting.

For example, LED is listed as the preferred lighting for all the vehicles and wheels must be painted steel with no chrome wheel simulators, lug nut covers or similar items. According to the Fleet Maintenance division, the latter options are not necessary and also come with an added cost and possible maintenance issues.

Laurel Hill Fire Chief Aaron Westervelt said the department's 36-year-old engine pumper is plagued with rust and could "fail at any moment."

"We have our fingers crossed," he said, explaining water has leaked out of the lining of the truck's tank. "It could be rusting from the inside out at this point."

The department has received a proposed price of $343,000 from a Texas vendor, Westervelt said.

Nystrom said there is no decided timeline or deadline for the request for proposal process, and waiting for the best price is of the most importance. The mayor also said he is hoping for a proposal that will offer discounts for buying in bulk, but said no deal will be struck without approval by the four fire chiefs and the City Council.

Westervelt said he is unsure if buying all the trucks from one vendor is a good idea.

"I could get my proposed truck in 200 days from my vendor," he said. "If you're getting five trucks from the same place, the last department on the list may be waiting 1,000 days."

Additionally, not all of the $3.2 million is strictly for new vehicles, Nystrom said. Roughly $500,000 is being allocated for equipment for the police department.

"The city has radio and communications problems," he said. "Some money will hopefully go toward addressing that."

A request for bid for a marine firefighting and rescue vessel was also posted to the city's website on Thursday afternoon. The equipment, which is being requested for the city's fire department, is not included in the $3.2 million bond.