JAY – How to persuade voters that firefighters need a new truck? That was the question Tuesday night at Jay selectmen’s meeting.

On Tuesday, Selectman Rick Simoneau asked Fire Chief Brian Shink about the status of the new truck purchase.

“We’re sitting idle,” Shink said.

“I want to have this truck as much as you guys. … I also know we need a plan,” Simoneau said. “I can’t see it passing just the way it is now.”

Jay voters had in both 2003 and 2004 rejected the Fire Rescue Department’s proposal to buy a custom-built Pierce pumper to replace the aging, rusty Engine No. 3, a 1980 conventional pumper truck. It has seating for three.

When last proposed, the new truck and equipment were expected to cost $389,094, an increase of about $13,000 from the previous year. About $16,000 more was needed to replace hose and obsolete equipment.

The department has about $200,000 in reserve for the truck, including $50,000 voters agreed to put away at town meeting in April.

Simoneau suggested a committee be put together to develop a plan that could meet with voters’ approval next year. Selectmen approved the recommendation.

Simoneau, Budget Committee member Al Landry and firefighters will be on the committee, as well as a member of the public to be named later.

Prior to the 2003 vote, the Budget Committee had asked for more bids for the truck.

The Fire Rescue Department Committee, a committee of firefighters, considered three different vendors.

This committee was asked to look at the town’s needs for the next 30 years. Firefighters said that a lot of research went into the package.

They thought the Pierce truck, with seating for eight, would be most cost efficient and would meet the needs of the town for years to come.

“There are no extras,” Shink said. “There are no bells or whistles.”

There is air conditioning in the proposed truck. It is a lot better for firefighters to cool down at the scene than to send them to a hospital, Shink said.

There is also a light tower on it to illuminate the scene of nighttime accidents and fires, he said.

The proposed truck has up to a 50-year life expectancy, the chief said. It was also chosen because Pierce would be able to send someone locally to service the truck.

This year voters were asked to authorize selectmen to buy the truck and enter into an agreement to finance it. It was defeated 362-240.

Assistant Chief Jim Shink said Tuesday that, “We had about 12 guys sit down . . . We get no respect for what we know or what we do from the committee.”

His brother, Deputy Chief Scott Shink, said that the community, including the paper mill, deserves to be provided with the best coverage.

“My life is on the line,” Scott Shink said.

Resident Cindy Bennett said she hadn’t favored the truck, but after listening to firefighters Tuesday she had a different feeling. She also commended the Shinks for what they do for the community.

“We can’t do what we do without the firefighters behind us,” Brian Shink said.

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