Russell — The Russell City Council on Monday hired a contractor to enlarge one of the city’s fire stations.

The council voted unanimously to accept a bid from Stephens Development Co. of Ashland to construct a 24-foot-by-24-foot addition onto the Kenwood firehouse at the junction of Kenwood Drive and St. Christopher Drive.

Stephens’ bid of $45,580 was the only one the city received for the project.

The new addition to the rear of the Kenwood station will enable it to accommodate a new aerial fire truck that the council voted in March to purchase from Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis., for $882,046.

Mayor Bill Hopkins said the work on the station needed to be finished prior to the city taking delivery of the new truck. That’s expected to take place in early December, he said.

Hopkins also said Stephens’ bid price was about what he and fire Chief Bernard King had anticipated that the work would cost.

The new aerial truck will replace a 1972 model vehicle the city purchased in 1986 from the Fire Department of New York.

The old truck has essentially reached the end of its useful life, and buying a new one is actually going be more cost-effective than continually paying for repairs to keep the old one in service, according to city officials.

The old truck has an electrical problem that prevents the boom from raising properly and has been taken out of commission.

Also, the aerial unit on the new truck will be capable of being extended to a height of 95 feet, 20 feet more than the one on the current vehicle.

Insurance regulations require that fire departments have aerial trucks with booms capable of reaching the top of the tallest buildings within their service areas. In Russell’s case, that building is Bellefonte Centre, which is 87 feet tall. The new truck will enable firefighters to reach the roof of that structure in event of a fire.

The city is paying for the new truck with a $600,000 loan from First & Peoples Bank and $282,046 from the city’s general fund.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.