Weston board approves special meeting on fire tanker

By Bruce Frauman
© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The three members of the Weston Select Board on hand for the Tuesday, June 28 meeting voted unanimously to hold a special town meeting to vote on authorizing the Select Board to borrow money to finish purchasing a water tanker for the Fire Department. The meeting will be held at Weston Town Offices on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 9. Further details have not been worked out.

Prior to the motion and vote, board chair Denis Benson distributed an email to the half dozen Weston Volunteer Fire Department members attending the meeting. The email, written by board member Charles Goodwin, stated that without enough funds in the Fire Department budget and without the special town meeting, the purchase of a new tanker would have to wait until after Town Meeting March  2017. Goodwin stated in the email that a new tanker might cost more by then, but so would holding a special town meeting now.

Town Clerk/Treasurer Kim Seymour told the board that there is $216,745 in the Fire Department truck fund with another $35,000 to be added this year. At its last meeting, the board accepted a $306,000 bid from KME for a new tanker. That leaves about a $55,000 shortfall.

The current tanker is 30 years old and, according to members of the fire department, it is difficult to drive, requiring wide turns of the steering wheel just to stay on the road. According to department member Derrick Lundberg, the truck is a “death trap driving down the road.” Department member Brian Lundberg said that the steering and suspension systems have been checked by a mechanic and deemed to be “all tight.”

Further discussion focused on the tires as a possible cause for its difficulty in driving, which the Fire Department will look into. Benson suggested the Fire Department also contact Hemming Motor News to look for a “guru on big trucks” who “may come up with some solutions.” Brian Lundberg agreed.

At the request of Christine Falango of the Little School, Goodwin made a motion that “the town pay $475 for work that will achieve positive drainage away from the building of the Little School.” The motion passed unanimously, and the work will take place at the same time that a new ramp will be installed this summer.

The town garage roof will stay on the agenda for the next meeting while solar installers are asked to inspect the building, make recommendations for any structural changes that might be needed and estimate the cost of a solar installation.

Discussing the issue of unlicensed dogs, Benson told the board that he had an idea but wanted to discuss in executive session. When the board returned from the closed door session, Goodwin moved that, “The town of Weston investigate the use of personnel resources in other towns in resolving the unlicensed dog problems.” This motion passed unanimously.