DURHAM – After paying $112,000 toward a new firetruck that was to have been delivered last December, the town is fighting to prevent the partially finished truck from being sold by a creditor.
The town contracted with Emergency Vehicles of Maine in July 2005 to build a tanker truck at a cost of $138,000, but financial difficulties prompted the company to place itself in receivership and the truck was never finished.
Northeast Bank is now offering to sell the unfinished truck to Durham for an unspecified amount, bank spokeswoman Marilyn Thomas has confirmed.
The town has already paid $111,932, plus legal fees, and it would cost an estimated $50,000 to complete the vehicle, said fire Chief Bill St. Michel.
“We can’t pay any more,” he said.
He estimated that the extra cost of legal fees and finishing the truck would put him between $30,000 and $40,000 over budget for a vehicle that was approved by voters at a cost not to exceed $140,000.
The new 2,250-gallon tanker with a 500-gallon-per-minute pump was to replace an aging 1972 tanker, which is “falling apart,” St. Michel said. Its inspection sticker will expire in November, he added.
Getting additional funds for the new truck would require approval by townspeople at a special town meeting and finding money to transfer from another account. St. Michel said he had no idea how much the bank will want for the truck the town has already paid for.
Two other New England towns are in the same position, Beecher Falls, Vt., and Candia, N.H., have already reached a confidential settlement with Northeast Bank to buy their partially finished firetrucks for undisclosed amounts. When asked what the other towns paid, Thomas said she was “not at liberty” to discuss it, but that the bank is willing to negotiate with Durham.
Previous closed-door meetings between bank representatives and the town’s legal counsel have failed to reach a resolution. St. Michel expects the next step will be arbitration.
The town’s attorney has filed for a temporary restraining order and an injunction to prevent the sale, to which the bank has agreed. Thomas expects the restraining order will be settled in court within a month.
EVM’s financial problems came as somewhat of a surprise to the town which has been doing business with the firm more than 10 years without any issues.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.