The Wilton Selectboard is scheduled to discuss buying a nearly new aerial firetruck Monday night with $500,000 approved by voters at a special town meeting.

“It’s new, with only 5,000 miles. It was used in the past year as a demonstration model,” Town Manager Rhonda Irish said.

In November, residents voted 32-27 to approve spending up to $500,000 on a used aerial firetruck to replace their former 40-year-old ladder truck. It would be paid for by a mix of traditional property tax money and tax-increment financing district money from the Comfort Inn & Suites district.

The town previously researched other alternatives and held public meetings on the options, such as leasing a truck from the neighboring towns of Jay and Farmington or buying a new truck for $1.2 million to $1.4 million. The Selectboard, however, recommended shopping for a used one, with members saying they thought a used truck would be the best value.

The truck that the Wilton Fire Department proposed buying is a 2013 HME aerial truck with a 78 foot platform.

Irish said it’s one of eight similar firetrucks in the U.S. put up for sale in the last two weeks. Five already have sold and out of the three that are left, there is one that meets the town’s needs.

Advertisement

The truck would come with everything that town needs in a firetruck except a generator and lettering. Irish said the town could take the generator for the former engine 7 and use it for the new firetruck.

She said the other firetruck the town considered was a 2000 Pierce aerial truck with an 85-foot platform and 376,000 miles on the odometer. Irish said the town thought the newer truck was a better deal.

“After evaluating the pros and cons and taking a look at per capita costs, the other one seemed to fit our needs a little better,” she said.

If the Selectboard agrees to buy the truck, Irish said, it would arrive in town in about 60 to 90 days.

Kaitlin Schroeder — 861-9252

kschroeder@centralmaine.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.