TURNER — Fire Chief Mike Arsenault proudly presented the town’s new firetruck to selectmen Tuesday night.

Arsenault said he was pleased with the 2000 Central States Freightliner the town bought from Center Ossipee, N.H., for $75,000. Center Ossipee replaced the truck with one it received through a grant.

Arsenault said the truck equipped with a 1,250-gallon tank and a 1,250-gallon-per-minute pump was well-suited for rural Turner.

“Most used trucks that are available are from cities with lots of fire hydrants and only have small water tanks,” he said. “We need the larger on-board water tank to use while we set up a water supply.”

The truck is equipped to feed eight foam lines and has piping for a water cannon. Ron Cote, who does Turner’s pump tests, was so pleased with the “good deal” Turner got that he offered to perform the first annual pump test as a gift.

In other business:

* Public Works Director Jack Moultrie reported on a mold problem in the hydraulics space at the transfer station.A local contractor has offered to remove the mold, but selectmen felt the first step should be to eliminate the moisture problem in the area. Selectman Kurt Youland will work with Moultrie to design a fix.

* Rampart Bituminous presented the low bid of $47,284 for one mile of “chip seal” asphalt coating on Plains Road. Heavy truck traffic in that area has taken a toll on the road surface. Of the three bidders, only Lane Construction, with a bid of $64,417, offered to complete the work this year.

* Selectmen directed Moultrie to offer Rampart a 10 percent incentive if it would complete the work this month. Rampart Bituminous could not schedule the work and the project will be rebid next year. Public Works will seal cracks in the road to preserve it through the winter.

* For more than a year selectmen have been discussing eliminating longevity pay bonuses. They seemed predisposed to approve a revision to the Personnel Policy that would eliminate the bonuses. As Chairman Angelo Terreri called for the vote, Chief Arsenault asked to speak. He said that this was the first he had heard of the proposal and that he and at least one other town employee were to earn the bonus starting this year.

Selectman Dick Keene that while he was in favor of eliminating the bonuses, they had not thought about cases such as this. He felt the change would be unfair to the employees. Selectmen agreed to table the motion.

* In 2000, the town established a “No Parking” zone near the pond on Little Wilson Pond Road. It had never been enforced. Selectmen reviewed the ordinance and directed Moultrie to post signs in the area. Terreri said the town would tow cars that violated the ordinance because there was a safety issue with parked cars on the narrow road, especially during snow season.

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