A special town meeting has been announced for a truck purchase.
By Lilia Bright
Special to the Sun Journal

OXFORD – Selectmen considered a change to the road postings on some town roads at last Thursday’s meeting.

Selectmen and residents spoke of complaints of trailer trucks using Rabbit Valley Road and Skeetfield Road as throughways. Both roads are posted against through-traffic of 18-wheelers. Only vehicles with a local destination, such as the Transfer Station or other businesses, are legal after obtaining a permit from the Town Hall. Some residents complained of the misuse of posted roads. Others complained of the hassle of obtaining permits for routine deliveries.

Selectman Mike Thompson said, “We have got to end all the confusion about who we let in and don’t. Next year we have got to change it somehow so we don’t have to give a permit to every little delivery.”

According to Town Manager Mike Huston, the law states, “If they are making a delivery, they’ve got to get a permit.” No decisions were made to change any postings yet.

Selectmen did approve the award of an ambulance contract to Sugarloaf Ambulance. A PL Custom Type III Ford E-450 rescue vehicle will cost the town $136,585. The down payment of $20,000 will come out of the capital improvement budget.

Future payments should come from a specially made reserve account suggested Huston. The ambulance will be leased through the People’s Heritage Leasing Corp. for a period of six years.

Selectmen continued to discuss the details involved in the purchase of a new plow truck for the Highway Department. Huston recommended, “eliminating four units, and obtaining two.” He suggested as an alternative to “get rid of the 1986 Ford as well as the worse of the two IH trucks, and purchase a wheeler.” As a backup solution, Huston said there is money in the budget to purchase one new truck.

Questions have been raised in the previous months about the growing needs of the town, costs of repair versus maintenance, and what would be financially feasible for the town’s budget. Selectmen voted to hold a special town meeting at 5:30 p.m. May 15, 2003, at the Town Hall to discuss the options with the public.

A resident asked, “If the need was there why wasn’t it there before town meeting?” Resident Gary Tibbetts asked, “If we get a new truck, will it make things go any faster?”

Highway Foreman Steve Brown presented a list of overlay priorities for this paving season. Selectmen hope to have a final decision by May 1 on where the patching and overlaying will take place this summer and fall.

Selectman Mike Thompson said, “I think the tack job is what we’ve got to do until we get the budget to where we need it to spend on major repairs.”

Brown said no digging would be done due to budget restrictions. An estimate from Commercial Paving was obtained, but the town has not put the paving work out to bid yet. Huston wrote in his memorandum that $196,158 is needed to finish the roads from last year, leaving a balance of $185,992 for this year’s work.

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