LIVERMORE FALLS — The town manager announced Tuesday during a selectmen meeting the resignation of the fire chief and retirement of the deputy chief, both effective June 30.

Livermore Falls Fire Rescue Chief Mike Booker, who is also the Jay fire rescue chief, was hired to replace Edward Hastings IV who resigned June 29, 2021, to return to being an investigator at the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Deputy Chief Scott Shink was named interim chief June 29 and served until Booker was hired.

Both men are veteran firefighters. Booker will remain Jay’s fire rescue chief.

No plan was discussed during the open meeting to replace the chiefs.

In other business, attorney Paul Mills moderated a special town meeting attended by about 10 residents, including five selectmen, town manager and public works foreman. The residents voted to change the Maine Public Employees Retirement System plan for eligible police officers who were employed before July 1 and after retroactive to July 1, 2021.

The town needs to submit $9,026 in a lump sum to the state retirement system by July 31.

Selectmen approved a three-year contract in September 2021 that allowed officers in the union to retire after 25 years of service and giving wage increases in the second and third years.

During the first year of the contract, which was retroactive to July 1, a change was made to the  Maine Public Employee Retirement System plan. Union members gave up a wage increase for the change, Town Manager Amanda Allen said in September.

A 2.5% wage increase was included in the second and third years, she had said.

In other matters, selectmen elected Jim Long as chairman and Ernie Souther as vice chairman of the Select Board.

Selectmen also welcomed new member Bruce Peary and former Selectman Nixon Ortiz to the board.

Souther, an incumbent, was elected to a one-year term June 14; Peary to three years and Ortiz for two years.

Allen also announced that a $12,000 payment was made to Peter Morris of Livermore Falls to purchase just over an acre of property on state Route 106 for a fire substation. The town is waiting on the engineer to be on site.

Selectmen voted in April to buy the 200- by 300-foot property. Residents voted in November 2020 to build a substation, by a vote of 992-399, within a mile of the intersection of state Routes 133 and 106.  The vote authorized selectmen to spend up to $400,000 over 20 years to build the station, with payments not to exceed $20,000 a year.

The board also approved allowing public works foreman Bill Nichols to spend $8,000 from this year’s budget to buy a sander for the Ford F-550 pickup truck, the smallest truck in the fleet. Voters approved the purchase of an F-600 on June 14 but it won’t be ordered until about October, Nichols said.

Selectmen also approved spending up to $7,000 from the current Fire Rescue Department budget to fix anything that needs to be repaired on a 1991 engine  truck. Selectmen previously agreed to trade two fire trucks, a ladder truck that was not working and an engine that had issues, for the 1991 engine.

Booker said he had Greenwood Emergency Vehicles in Brunswick go over the 1991 engine from bumper to bumper. Not everything needs fixing, he said. But to have the items that need to be fixed, pump testing, lettering and other needed improvements, it would cost between $6,000 and $7,000, Booker said.

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