CHELSEA — Residents will be asked at a special town meeting Wednesday whether they want the selectmen to transfer money between fire department accounts to prepare for the purchase of a replacement tanker or truck.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Chelsea Elementary School.
The Board of Selectmen called the meeting to transfer $43,000 from the fire department’s building reserve account to the vehicle replacement reserve account, which has about $26,000 in it.
The volunteer fire department’s 1989 Kenworth tanker has a leak, so the town is looking to either buy a used truck or a tank for its current truck.
Buying a replacement tank could cost $87,000, a like-new tanker could cost $285,000 and used tanker could cost between $45,000 to $84,000, according to Town Manager Scott Tilton.
He said the town has issued a request for quotes to replace the tank and is looking for used tankers for sale.
Tilton expects town officials will make a decision about what to purchase within a month. If it’s more costly than what the town has in the reserve account, the selectmen will have to call another special town meeting to allocate or raise funds.
Paul Koenig — 621-5663
pkoenig@mainetoday.com
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