Rochester Fire Department purchases $85,000 ladder truck
Fire Chief Scott Weigel rolled into the Selectmen’s Tuesday night meeting with his department's latest purchase – an $85,000 ladder truck.
Weigel said he had searched for a new truck after Annual Town Meeting where voters appropriated $75,000 for that purpose two years ago.
The remaining $10,000 was raised by the firefighter’s association.
The search led him to a volunteer fire department in New Jersey looking to unload the vehicle.
Weigel noted the truck has 21,000 miles on the odometer and 795 hours of service.
“We had our eye on this one and watched the price come down…It’s like brand new,” Weigel said. “The truck is immaculate.”
In other news:
School Committee: Selectmen and an Old Rochester Regional School Committee member filled a vacancy on the committee by appointing Carey Humphrey.
Humphrey, a former member who resigned a few years ago, took the seat left by James O’Brien, the former chairman. O’Brien resigned after being hired as superintendent at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School.
Land grant: The Rochester Land Trust was a awarded a $42,000 grant from the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program. Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon told Selectmen the money will be used to purchase land near Haskell Woods and Haskell Ridge.
Underhill resigns: Selectmen accepted the resignation of Fred Underhill from the Historic Commission. Board members noted Underhill’s workload as a member of other town boards, including the Rochester Water Commission, had increased, prompting the resignation.
Tax collection: For the first time in recent memory officials won’t have shore up town finances with stabilization funds or loans, following a successful property tax collection.
“The collection of taxes has gone spectacular this year,” Town Administrator Mike McCue said.
Of the $5.6 million due from the first collection of property taxes, the town has $5.5 million in municipal coffers.
By having that much cash on hand, Selectman Naida Parker said the town won’t have to take out a loan to cover expenditures, saving money on interest payments.
Free furniture: McCue secured $2,000 worth of high quality office furniture for free after driving by a business in Plainville advertising the deal. Highway Department employees picked up desks, credenzas and other items that were delivered to town.