FARMINGTON – The town can look forward to a new firetruck.
Selectmen met Tuesday night to award the fire truck contract. An expenditure of up to $812,000 was approved by voters on June 13.
The truck will replace an older unit, Engine 1, and cost the town $705,611 after Engine 1 is traded in for $100,000. The truck, known as the Minuteman Fire Apparatus, purchased from Pierce Manufacturing Inc., a division of Oshkosh Truck Corp., was chosen because firefighters said it fulfilled the most specifications of any of the available trucks, according to Selectman Dennis Pike. He said the decision was reached after “extensive discussions with the Fire Department.”
Specification for the truck included ladder length, adequate compartment space, as well as the size of the truck. The Minuteman, with a 100-foot ladder and suspension system built for safer handling and stability, is very similar to Engine 1. That and its superior warranty package were taken into account. Pike also said a payment system was worked out with Pierce that helped reduce the unit’s price by $13,113.
In other business, selectmen approved a series of musical events to be held from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Sundays in Meetinghouse Park. Sonny Holland, one of the two members of the musical group organizing the events, says that he intends to use the park’s gazebo as a stage for bluegrass, jazz, and rock and roll musical groups.
While several board members had concerns over restroom facilities, trash disposal and increased traffic, Holland was given a temporary license to hold his event every Sunday until Aug. 8. At that time, selectmen will review the situation and decide whether or not to grant permission for the event to continue to be held until sometime after Labor Day.
Selectmen gave Town Manager Richard Davis the responsibility to dispose of the six large tree planters on Main Street. The planters are slated for removal and the trees are to be transplanted directly into a cut-outs in the sidewalk and street. An anonymous donor is willing to pay $16,000 to complete the job.
The planters were acquired through a state Department of Transportation grant, so the town will most likely donate the containers to a nonprofit organization. SAD 9 has already expressed an interest in using the planters to curtail traffic at the playing fields at Mount Blue Middle School.
“We should come to some decision to the final disposition of the planters, so we only have to move them once,” Davis said.
The town also hired a new assistant director for the Farmington Recreation Department. Joseph Nelson got the job, over six possible applicants. Nelson is originally from Saco and recently moved to Farmington with his wife.
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