Photo by Tom Gilchrist • The village of Mayville has acquired this military surplus 6×6 dump truck, along with a Humvee in the background, from the Department of Defense. The federal government provided the vehicles, along with a generator, for free to the village police department.
By Tom Gilchrist
For The Advertiser
MAYVILLE — Mayville Department of Public Works Interim Supervisor Matt Iseler describes the village’s new military-surplus 6×6 dump truck as “big,” and the vehicle, along with a former military Humvee and generator, could play a major role in emergency situations.
Such as a Michigan winter.
“We understand this coming winter is going to be worse than the last one. I have coffee with some of my senior citizens and they know these things,” said Mayville Police Chief Tony Coln, who worked to obtain the vehicles and generator for the Police Department through the federal Department of Defense 1033 program.
Had Mayville bought the vehicles and generator brand new, the village would have paid about $124,000 for the items, according to Coln.
Through the program, the federal government doesn’t charge the village for the items. The village paid $1,381 for Coln and Mayville Fire Chief Robert Hiiter to cover the cost of gasoline, toll-road fees and one night’s lodging on a trip to New Jersey to transport the vehicles and generator back to Mayville.
The Humvee, dump truck and generator are “something we more or less have had given to us,” Coln said.
The federal program gives police departments surplus equipment left over from U.S. military campaigns. Iseler said he hopes to outfit the dump truck with a plow blade so it can remove snow. Coln said he won’t patrol Mayville’s streets in the Humvee on most days.
“All I’ll use it for is patrolling in adverse weather, and to assist with rescues,” Coln said. “If the ambulance service needs to get back on a two-track because somebody fell out of a tree or something, give us a call and here we go.”
Fire Chief Hiiter called the acquisition of the vehicles and generator “wonderful.” The generator will be hooked to the fire station along Trend Street and provide electricity there to create an emergency shelter during power outages, according to Hiiter.
“Then we are writing a grant also for a light tower for that unit, so we can take that out to any accident scene or any fire scene that we might have, and light that scene up,” Hiiter said.
Area businesses and residents were generous in connection with the village’s acquisition of the vehicles, according to Coln. Mayville Fire Department Lt. Jason Bellor, who works at McDonald Chevrolet in Millington, was instrumental in finding and providing emergency lights and sirens for the Humvee, according to the police chief. Coln said he paid for decals for the vehicles and a donation on decal installation was obtained through Eric Vrable of Vassar’s Larsen Graphics Inc.
Bob and Steven Zimmerman of Mayville Automotive provided a free paint job on the Humvee, while Boyd Bollweiler of Thumb Complete Home Repair gave use of a diesel pickup truck and trailer to haul the Humvee back from New Jersey. Steve Charette of Mayville’s Promerican Corp. will install the lights and sirens on the Humvee.
“It was really nice to see the community come together on this project,” Coln said.