More than a year after a Grand Ledge company was paid more than $53,000 to convert a semi truck chassis into a water tanker for a fire department in Montcalm County, it hasn't delivered the finished vehicle.
Etankers signed an agreement with the Stanton Community Fire Department to convert the truck in December 2016. The department's 20 volunteer firefighters serve three townships and the city of Stanton. The area is 52 square miles.
Fire Chief Brian Brasington said the department's four-member fire board decided to replace its only water tanker in July 2016. The aging vehicle had motor issues, over 400,000 miles on it, and was burning oil.
A brand new tanker would have cost $300,000 to $400,000, Brasington said.
"We just don't have that kind of money," said Corinda Stover, who is treasurer for both the fire department and Sidney Township, one of the municipalities served by the fire department.