LIVERMORE FALLS — There will be a new, temporary home for some of the equipment currently stored at the Livermore Falls Fire Station.

Selectmen agreed at their meeting Tuesday to have Fire Chief Ed Hastings negotiate with the Area Youth Sports board of directors to rent a room at the former Livermore Falls High School to store the gear. The town is currently in the process of figuring out what repairs are needed at the fire station to allow trucks and equipment to be stored there again.

“There’s still a considerable amount of our valuable property in the fire station,” Hastings said. “If we’re going to open the building up to contractors, we need to get this stuff secure.”

He said that there are leaks in the ceiling and walls where water is coming through, forcing gear to be stored under tarps or in boxes away from the leaks.

Hastings told the board that he had previously communicated with AYS and noted that an old classroom would work well for equipment storage.

Hastings said that the AYS board was open to letting the town rent a classroom for 12 months for $1,000 in which to store the equipment, contingent upon the town having insurance for the equipment. Town Manager Kristal Flagg said that the town would be covered by Maine Municipal Association insurance for the equipment.

A resident asked Hastings where the firetrucks were being housed. He responded that the ladder truck and Engine 3 are in a garage on Route 133, while Engine 1 and Engine 2 are at the south Jay fire station.

Hastings said that there is a lot of old, broken equipment at the fire station. The Fire Department has put together a list of items that are considered garbage.

“I think things that are broken should be disposed of,” Chairwoman Louise Chabot said.

In other business, the cannon in Union Park has been moved to Howie’s Welding for repairs. Flagg said that it had been slated to be moved to a Fayette resident’s place this winter for work, but this did not occur.

George Bunten Post 10 American Legion member Donald Simoneau held a fundraising drive for repairs to the cannon, raising thousands of dollars to have it restored.

Flagg said that she and Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere met with Simoneau and Diane Getz regarding the Memorial Day parade in Jay and Livermore Falls. The American Legion will need insurance to cover the parade and is looking for donations to help with the cost, she said.

The town will be paying more in Androscoggin County taxes in 2016-17. Livermore Falls will be responsible for $177,785.68 in county taxes, an increase of $12,496.50 from last year’s amount.

Flagg noted that the town will be receiving propane from Down East Energy for the library and Highway Department at a rate of $1.069 per gallon in 2016-17. This is 31 cents per gallon lower than the town is currently paying, she said.

Livermore Falls has a joint agreement with Down East Energy for propane, along with Wilton and Jay.

bmatulaitis@sunmediagroup.net

“There’s still a considerable amount of our valuable property in the fire station.” — Livermore Falls Fire Chief Ed Hastings

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