By Jennifer Solis
Correspondent
May 06, 2008 03:52 am WEST NEWBURY — The path may have been rocky at times, but the Fire Department is now solidly on the road to obtaining a new aerial ladder truck, thanks to a unanimous vote at annual Town Meeting last week. The approval came towards the end of a nearly three-hour meeting during which 122 voters considered the 35 articles on special and annual town warrants, including a $10.5 million line-item budget. At the end of the meeting, Finance Director Tracy Blais reported a balance of $591,311 in the town's free cash account, $255,723 in the stabilization fund, and $14,000 in excess tax levy. "The Fire Chief and the Board of Fire Engineers would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the town for its unanimous vote of confidence that the department will get the best qualified truck we can get," said Fire Chief Raymond "Rock" Dower after the meeting. The unanimous vote followed a brief discussion on Town Meeting floor. One voter, who experienced a fire in his home this winter, spoke strongly in favor of the purchase. He recalled firefighters sliding across his icy rooftop and thinking, "God, I hope somebody doesn't get killed trying to put out this chimney fire." Voters approved a $300,000 down payment on the new truck, using $100,000 from free cash and $200,000 from stabilization. An annual line-item expense of about $45,000 will appear in the fire department's operating budget for the next 15 years. Eight bids for custom built trucks — three from one manufacturer — were opened last month. Fire engineers are currently reviewing four bids ranging in price from $671,000 to $790,000. Bids include costs to train firefighters on the new truck as well as training on the loaner truck, as needed. The board anticipates delivery on the new truck within one year. When the town's 26-year-old aerial ladder truck failed certification last summer, the fire engineers began what was, at times, a tumultuous process to find a replacement. The town has relied on mutual aid from Newburyport and Groveland since the truck was taken out of service last July. The two towns have responded to calls requiring a ladder truck approximately 15 times over the past seven months. In January, the Board of Fire Engineers declared the lack of a ladder truck an emergency under state procurement rules, opening the door for selectmen to authorize an immediate replacement without the need to submit to a standard bidding process. Several fire engineers advocated strongly for the purchase of a demonstration truck from a manufacturing company in Florida called E-One. Asking price for the slightly used truck was $785,000. However, selectmen rejected any plan that called for replacing the truck without Town Meeting approval. Instead they initiated a special town meeting in February to consider the E-One proposal, as well as an option to buy an older vehicle for a considerably lesser amount, something the fire engineers strongly opposed. When not enough voters turned out for the special meeting, however, those present agreed to transfer $5,000 from free cash to allow fire engineers to continue researching potential ladder trucks. Selectmen then requested an on-site inspection of the E-One truck by a master mechanic. The report indicated that although the truck was in overall good condition, there were several misrepresentations to the town by the manufacturer, including how the truck had been used previously and its service history. Fire engineers agreed not to pursue the E-One vehicle and instead initiated the bid process. Approval of the warrant request was recommended, but selectmen and fire engineers need to review how it is that the town wound up in the position of having no ladder truck in the first place, Dave Kapturowski, Chairman of the Finance Committee, told voters.
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