Town Officials are calling a Town Meeting on March 6 at 6PM at Town Hall to discuss the purchase of a fire truck and apparatus. Members of the department have been working for over a year researching a new truck to replace the current one, which is 30 years old.

The Department considered seven different trucks from five different companies before selecting a truck that approximates the current one from Firematic Supply Company, Inc. for $1,088,000 for the vehicle and its equipment. By applying $159,058.68 from the Fire Department’s Capital and Non-Recurring Account, and another $395,000 in American Recovery Program Act (ARPA) funds, the Town will need to fund approximately a half a million.

At a February 15 meeting of the Board of Finance, Chief Richard Schenk distributed the proposed contract and the components list and detailed the process the department employed in considering the purchase, including the formation of a committee charged with exploring options, contacting vendors, test driving vehicles, and ranking the final selections on criteria which included costs, delivery, and service inspections. The full membership approved the committee’s recommendation, and at the finance board meeting, members unanimously voted to send the recommendation on the purchase to Town Meeting. The Board of Selectman also voted to send the question to a March 12 referendum, to be held in the Community Room at Town Hall from noon to 8PM.