In addition, Moretown residents will be asked once more to approve an
amount not to exceed $180,000 for the purchase of a new town dump truck;
select board members voted in favor of holding a townwide vote on May
11. The special vote follows the defeated Article 10 that failed by four
votes on Town Meeting day.
TOWN TRUCK
Town officials met with interim road commissioner Rae Washburn and
members of the town road crew to discuss the equipment needs and
recommendations.
Washburn said the road crew "really needs two trucks, a smaller utility
truck and a new dump truck to replace the current, deteriorating town
truck."
He said that the dump body of the current truck will need to be replaced
shortly and that the road crew will need a new truck before next
winter.
Special-ordering the truck could take as long as one year, he said.
LINE ITEM
Moretown resident Jonathan Siegel suggested that the town "get into a
pattern" of budgeting for town trucks, since the road crew typically
needs a new truck every three years. Seigel said the budget should
include a line item each year that will cover one-quarter of the cost of
new truck, instead of waiting and warning a large expenditure.
"I don't think the article failed over $10,000; it failed because people
don't want to spend $190,000," he said.
Town Treasurer Amy Deutl suggested that the capital budget committee
work to educate and inform the public about why the truck is needed.
EDUCATIONAL APPROACH
"I can guarantee that the people that voted against the truck don't know
how many town trucks we have," Siegel added.
"We lost a year after Town Meeting. We're buying the truck; we need an
energetic, educational approach to let everybody know that we're not
saving money by putting it off another year."
Select board member Dave Van Deusen suggested paying for a new, smaller
pickup truck with money from the Capital Reserve Fund, since town
officials are authorized to spend that money without a townwide vote.
CAPITAL EXPENSE
Since the expenditure qualifies as a capital expense, select board
member John Hoogenboom said he agreed with using money from the Capital
Reserve Fund (currently with an approximately $100,000 balance) to cover
the cost of the pickup truck.
Select board member Stephanie Venema said she wasn't ready to make a
decision about a truck purchase.
"I want to make sure we get what we need and what our choices are," she
said.
OFFICIALLY APPOINTED
Town officials voted in favor of spending an amount not to exceed
$15,000 on a pickup truck for the town's road crew. Van Deusen voted
nay; Venema abstained.
Voters will be asked to approve expending an amount not to exceed
$180,000 for the purchase of a new town dump truck at a townwide vote
scheduled for Tuesday, May 11.
Reed Korrow was also officially appointed to a vacant seat on the select
board at Monday's meeting; select board member John Hoogenboom won on a
write-in campaign and had previously suggested appointing the loser
from the one-year race.
{loadnavigation}
