TURNER – Voters were split at a special town meeting Monday night, but based on the 18-15 vote, a town firetruck will be fixed.

There was no discussion on the expenditure of up to $21,690 to fix one of the fire department’s front-line tankers, but all of those voting against the money were firefighters.

Fire Chief Steve Fish explained after the meeting that department members “do not see the sense in spending $21,000 to fix a truck worth between $8,000 and $10,000.”

“It doesn’t make sense and it is not how we would run our budgets,” the chief said.

The department has been campaigning for the purchase of a new truck or less-used truck to replace the 34-year-old piece of equipment, but the Budget Committee has stood in solid opposition to an expenditure for such a purchase. Selectmen have discussed putting an article on the April town meeting warrant so citizens can discuss the matter. A new truck could cost between $150,000 and $200,000.

Sandra Smith served as moderator for the meeting, which lasted 15 minutes.

In other business, Leavitt Institute Committee member Ralph Caldwell reported that several members of the committee had met with SAD 52 officials on Monday. He said the committee wanted to get a sense of school officials’ concerns about moving the town office.

The committee is proposing to move the town office to the Leavitt Institute building in the middle of the Turner Center school campus. The matter will be considered at town meeting.

Caldwell said some of the concerns raised by school officials centered on traffic safety, as the area contains schools, playgrounds and playing fields. They also expressed concerns over convicted pedophiles who live in the area coming onto school property to get to the office.

Caldwell said the committee has suggested that the committee hold some fund-raising events and purchase the three acres directly in front of the institute.

“This would give them the funds to develop the land behind Turner Elementary School for new playgrounds,” Caldwell said. The area in front of the institute is currently being used as playground and playing field spaces.

Caldwell said that SAD 52 Superintendent Tom Hanson has agreed to put the committee onto the agenda for a coming school board meeting. Selectmen had said previously that they would not put the decision before the voters until issues were settled with the SAD 52 board which, under a legal agreement, has final approval over uses in the building.

Town Manager Jim Catlin told the board that the town office had been broken into late Friday night or early Saturday morning. Nothing has been found to be missing, but an outside door and a door on a supply closet will have to be replaced. The state police are investigating, he said.

The next regular selectmen’s meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 18, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.