To the Editor:

What am I missing on the “new” fire truck Livermore Falls just bought? There must be something I’m just not seeing. Let me explain. 

Our Chief has been pushing hard to replace our ladder truck because the existing unit has been out of service for repairs for months. We cannot do those repairs because of costs and the availability of parts. So, not being able to afford a new-new truck we go on line to find someone else’s unwanted ladder truck. We buy it, drive it back to Maine and commit to spending additional monies to “…prepare it for service…”  

Ok, so far, I can follow the saga, even if I don’t agree with it. But the plot thickens when our Select Board authorizes completing the repairs to our out-of-service truck (Out of service for over three months due to the repair costs and parts availability, remember!!) so that we can sell it on line with a minimum bid of $2k.  

I’m thinking that most of us don’t replace cars, appliances, etc. when they can be effectively repaired, but I could be wrong. So, you can understand my inability to fully understand what our Board and Fire Department are doing. Logic says that if we are wanting to spend money to repair it before disposing of it, it has value as a working fire truck. Additionally, if AFTER repairs we are asking for a minimum bid of $2,000 the repairs could not be all that costly. If they are, it should go straight to the scrapper.  

This leads me to the conclusion that instead of chasing a new fire truck we should be looking into why we haven’t repaired our existing truck and put it back in service. If it wasn’t important enough to have it working for the last three months, do we really need it, much less a replacement?? 

Scott Roberts  

Livermore Falls

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