LIVERMORE FALLS — Voters at Tuesday’s special town meeting approved spending $70,000 in contingency funds to cover cost overruns for the fire station project.

At a special town meeting earlier this year, townspeople had approved up to $650,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture loan funds to renovate the fire station. Interim Town Manager Stephen J. Gould said the money requested Tuesday would cover change orders for the project.

“Anything we don’t need, we won’t be borrowing,” he said. “That will stay with the USDA.”

“As was semi-expected, there were issues from the electrical service to wall issues that pushed the cost over $650,000,” said Fire Chief Edward Hastings IV. “This will give us some extra funds, so hopefully we don’t have to come back for a special town meeting.”

The extra costs included an oil/water separator, more reinforcement for the back wall of the fire station and replacing electrical panels. These additional costs have pushed the project total to about $690,000.

“The alternative is if we don’t increase the budget to meet these, we’re going to have to meet with (project contractor) H.E. Callahan to figure what we have to cut out to stay within the budget,” Hastings said.

Selectman Tom Barker said he couldn’t support the increase. He noted that the selectmen, in addition to the $650,000 loan, had approved $83,000 from the fund balance.

Barker said the $83,000 from the fund balance was approved on the condition that it be considered a loan to be paid back from the $650,000.

In other business, voters approved $12,694 from the fund balance to fully equip the Livermore Falls Police Department’s new Ford Explorer police cruiser.

bmatulaitis@sunmediagroup.net

Moderator Ron Aseltine, left, is sworn in by town clerk Amanda Allen during a Livermore Falls special town meeting on Tuesday. (Barry Matulaitis/Sun Journal)