Fire crew members would do the work to put the old tank on the new chassis.
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer

PARIS – Fire Chief Brad Frost has his eye on a used chassis to replace the broken one on the town’s only tanker truck.

He just hopes it’s still there if he gets approval to purchase it.

Selectmen voted on Monday to hold a special town meeting on Aug. 25 to determine if $6,250 should be spent on the purchase of the new chassis.

The current chassis on the town’s only tanker is bent, rendering the vehicle unusable.

Frost said Tuesday that nobody noticed the tanker had a problem when it was sitting in the old fire station.

“Once we got it to the new station we noticed that one side was sitting five and one-half inches lower than the other side,” Frost said. “The old Chevy has a bent frame on it and has been out of commission for a month. Everything in the old station was jammed in so tight you couldn’t tell.”

Selectmen decided to take the money from the town surplus, which requires voters approval, rather than using the town’s contingency fund.

So, Frost has to wait two weeks before learning if the purchase will be approved.

He said the costs to put the old tank on the new chassis would be minimal because fire crew members would do the job.

“The tanker’s biggest role is in fires in the country, where there is no water supply,” Frost said.

The special town meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the town office building, prior to the regular selectmen meeting.

In other business, selectmen approved naming the four ball fields on Oxford Street “The Dennis Rugg Athletic Complex” after the recreation committee member.

Paris Recreation Committee Chairman Dana Chandler said on Tuesday that Rugg has spent an extraordinary amount of time at the ballfields and single-handedly put in an in-ground irrigation system in one field.

“We wanted to have sign out on the complex because if you were to drive by, nobody would know we were there,” Chandler said. “Dennis lives just across the street and you can find him there pretty much from the time the sun comes up until the sun goes down.”

“We wanted to dedicate it to Dennis Rugg, because as a volunteer he put most work into complex to make it what it is today,” Chandler said. “He deserved the recognition.”

The selectmen also approved the sale of the empty lot on the corner of Charles and Water streets to Norway businessman David Everett for $4,000.

Town Manager Steve McAllister said the lot had previously gone out to bid, but nobody wanted it. So when Everett offered to purchase it the board voted to do it.

Everett said he had not determined the use for the property, but it abuts land he owns.

Selectmen also agreed the town office would not have to open until 12:30 p.m. On Aug. 25 so new software could be installed into the computer system.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com