By ANN PIERCEALL
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- The Hannibal City Council gave approval Tuesday night for the Hannibal Fire Department to start more than $1 million in capital projects.

The projects include $486,000 in improvements to Stations 1 and 3, buying a new pumper engine for $350,000 and renovating the former KHQA-TV building at 2333 Palmyra Road for $75,000. The building was donated to the Fire Department and will be used for administrative offices and storage.

Fire Chief Tim Carter said Stations 1 and 3 are 40 years old and need of major upgrades in the electrical systems and repairs to roofs and ramps. The pumper truck will be ordered a year early in the city's vehicle rotation cycle, which is expected to save $49,000 in the purchase price.

The resolution allows the Fire Department to start the projects with money from its capital expense fund. The department will be reimbursed from a lease-purchase agreement with a yet-to-be-determined financial institution.

The department will let bids for the lease-purchase agreement in December or early January. Carter said the plan is to finance $990,000 through the agreement over about six years. With interest rates at an estimated 4 percent, annual repayment would be about $185,000.

Carter said the department has about $100,000 a year budgeted for capital improvements, but with inflation and rising costs for labor and materials, he didn't want to "piecemeal" the project at a higher cost.

"In the long run, it'll save money to get the work done now in one year," he said.

-- apierceall@whig.com/(573) 221-5879