KFD holds special election with more info
The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia
Ready to roll: The gear and garb of the Knox volunteer firefighters is stored in a row of shelves at the firehouse Monday. Tanker truck 1632 is parked a few feet from them. If residents authorize the tanker’s sale, the space will eventually accommodate a new, custom-made truck, until the firehouse is expanded.
The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia
Tanker 1632, a truck that is able to hold and pump up to 3,000 gallons of water, was parked in the Knox firehouse garage Monday, just after a spring in its suspension was rebuilt. Commissioners are planning an informational meeting at 7 p.m. at the firehouse on Oct. 16 before a second special election.
The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia
Valves and dials: Truck 1632 was fitted with an additional valve, lower right, through which water can be discharged to a hose from various angles.
KNOX — Dana Sherman, chair of the fire district’s commissioners, said he still isn’t sure what message to take from last month’s referendum in which 30 voters were split down the middle on selling a truck.
He hopes an informational meeting and a townwide letter ahead of a revote will get more people to understand the sale and more people to come to the polls.
Another special election will be held on Oct. 28, asking for the same permission from district voters: to sell a tanker, Truck 1632, from the year 2000 that district officials say will soon require more costly maintenance and decline in value.
The idea is to put the district’s equipment on a rotation where a 21-year-old truck is sold every seven years.
Selling the 14-year-old tanker will offset the cost of another, safer truck that would hold more firefighters with the same large water capacity. Sherman hopes the sale will bring in around $180,000 of the price needed for a new truck, which is not part of the Oct. 28 referendum and would need separate voter approval. A custom truck could be between $500,000 and $1 million, Sherman said.
An informational meeting on the referendum will be held at the firehouse on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. Polls for the referendum will be open at the firehouse from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
