FARMINGTON – Voters approved the purchase of a new fire truck to replace Engine Two during the special town meeting at the Community Center Tuesday night.
Chief Tim Hardy reported during the select board meeting, which preceded the special town meeting on Oct. 25, that the department solicited bids from six companies and only received one bid back. The bid from Allegiance Fire and Rescue in Walpole Massachusetts was for $861,405, with a 100% pre-payment discount of $30,000 for a total of $831,405.
The select board accepted the bid from Allegiance, contingent on town meeting approval. During the town meeting there was minimal discussion on the subject and the town residents in attendance approved the purchase. The funds will be taken from the undesignated funds account and the truck will be paid for in full, allowing the town to take advantage of the pre-payment discount and avoid the additional costs of interest on a bond payment.
Hardy said that at this point he doesn’t expect delivery of the truck for 24 months, possibly longer.
Voters also approved a purchase of 22 acres adjacent to the Public Works Department for the price of $2,000 per acre. The total appropriation from the Public Works budget is not to exceed $50,000.
The remaining articles on the town meeting warrant proved to be somewhat complicated to resolve.
A warrant to approve the revised zoning ordinance on homeless shelters was taken out of order and then removed from the warrant entirely on a procedural issue. Evidently the ordinance requires a public hearing through the Planning Board prior to a town meeting vote; as this did not occur, it could not be addressed in the town meeting Tuesday night. The matter will have to come before the town in another town meeting after the Planning Board holds a public hearing on the ordinances.
In addition, a warrant article had been added to appropriate $40,000 to pay the insurance premiums for liability, property, and casualty insurance coverage. This article was voted down; the accountant for the town reported that the town was short $40,000 for the insurance payment but after the warrant article had been posted it was determined that the ‘missing’ funds were in the sewer department budget for insurance and could be paid without a special appropriation through the town meeting. As such, the warrant article was unnecessary, but still required that the town take action on it. The town voted to ‘pass over’ the article.
During the select board meeting, which preceded the town meeting, the board approved a purchase of a used back hoe for the transfer station and a generator for the Public Works department. The back hoe, from Beauregard Equipment, will cost $39,900; the back hoe currently at the transfer station is badly in need of replacement. The generator, to be purchased from Milton Cat, will cost $30,930. The Public Works department does not currently have a generator.
The board also approved a full-color advertisement in Discover Maine Magazine for the Winter 2023 Kennebec & Androscoggin River Valley Regional Edition. The ad costs $395 and was funded through the Special Projects budget. This has been an annual expense for years and the board voted 4 to 1 to continue, with board member Josh Bell opposed.
The select board meeting and the special town meeting may be viewed online at Mt. Blue TV.
Editor’s Note, October 27: Farmington Code Enforcement Officer J. Stevens Kaiser notified town municipal officers following this meeting that a Planning Board public hearing was not necessary prior to a town meeting vote on the proposed zoning ordinances; a vote by the majority of the select board and a public hearing held by the select board would have been sufficient.
