LIVERMORE FALLS — There will be a special town meeting in October for residents to decide the financial terms of a loan to pay for construction of a fire station.

Town Manager Kristal Flagg said Thursday that an exact date for the meeting has not been set. The warrant article would ask residents to set the maximum amount of interest and the town’s indebtedness for the fire station, she said.

Selectmen discussed the issue at their meeting Tuesday. Selectman George Cummings said he wanted to have residents decide on the loan’s terms.

“The townspeople voted on it and accepted it ($1.5 million for the fire station), but we didn’t ask them about the interest,” he said. “That’s a sizable amount of money.”

Fire Chief Edward Hastings IV said it would be good for townspeople to know what interest rate they would be getting.

Selectman Tom Barker said he wanted to make sure notices about the meeting got to all citizens.

The town will start a Voluntary Response Action Program to address contaminated soil around the fire station site, where the new building will be constructed.

The program was established by the Maine Legislature in 1993, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection website. It allows applicants to voluntarily investigate and clean up properties to the DEP’s satisfaction, in exchange for protections from DEP enforcement actions. The program is intended to encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties within the state.

There is a $500 application fee for the work, and the total cost is up to $5,000, Flagg said. The cost could be higher if more testing was required than expected, she said.

Flagg said that although the contaminated soil wouldn’t be disturbed during construction, the DEP recommended the program.

“It would be nice if we did have a certificate of completion from DEP to get this behind us,” she said. “If we don’t, it’s going to create a ghost that’s going to come back and haunt us,” Barker said.

“I think we should be leaders in doing the right thing,” Hastings said. “I think we can stay within our budget and do it the right way.”

[email protected]