The special meeting was called to decide whether or not to purchase the
$23,000 truck. Select board members voted in favor of not purchasing
the more expensive truck and not using $15,000 from the Capital Reserve,
undoing the decision they made one week earlier.
PREMATURE
Select board chair John Hoogenboom said that it was "really premature to
get a one-ton truck" until the town hires a new road foreman and the
road crew is organized.
Moretown resident Jonathan Siegel agreed.
"You don't know where you're going with the road department. I'm not
against it, but since it's unclear who the road foreman is going to be,
figure it out and then equip it," he said.
ROAD CREW
Currently, former select board chair Rae Washburn is serving as the
interim road foreman following the death of road commissioner Craig
Elwell.
Washburn met with town officials last Monday to discuss the needs of the
road crew; he and road crew member Chris Grey told select board members
that they were in need of a smaller pickup in addition to the large
tandem dump truck.
Select board member Stephanie Venema said that if the town had to
decided to move forward with the purchase, she would have wanted to pay
the Capital Reserve back.
"We don't know what other crises are going to happen," she said.
GRABBING THIS MONEY
"It is high time the town considers breaking up the Capital Reserve into
special department reserves; that way the money is allocated. Special
funds are the only way you're going to stop grabbing this money," said
Moretown Planning Commission member Don LaRocca.
Currently the town's Capital Reserve Fund has a balance of approximately
$100,000.
Select board member David Van Deusen said that members of the road crew
had expressed concerns and were opposed to putting additional wear and
tear on their personal trucks as Elwell had done. The town pays the
federal rate of 50 cents per mile for using personal vehicles.
ONE-TON TRUCK
LaRocca suggested that the town get rid of the eight-yard dump truck and
purchase a one-ton truck. "A pickup truck is too limited; it only has
one use," he said.
An article that asked for authorization to spend an amount not to exceed
$190,000 failed on Town Meeting day.
The current truck is 9 years old and is rapidly deteriorating, according
to Washburn and Grey, who said that if the truck isn't replaced it
could cost thousands to keep the truck in working condition.
@SUBHEAD = CLEAR CONVICTION
Siegel said, "Clear conviction probably had something to do with why it
wasn't passed."
Select board members then voted in favor of not using up to $15,000 from
the town's Capital Reserve Fund to purchase a new pickup truck for the
highway department.
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.
The town will also hold an informational forum next Monday, March 29, a 6
p.m. at the Town Hall.
SHARE INFORMATION
"This meeting is being held in an effort to share information with the
public about town business and to give the public a chance to ask
questions and to comment on tonight's topics," town officials report.
In addition to the item for the highway department truck needs, the
forum will also take comment on Town Hall repairs and renovations, the
host town agreement with the Moretown Landfill and the goal of the
select board in 2010.
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