LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously to repair the Fire Department’s 1988 ladder truck instead of entering into a rental agreement with Jay.

Jay selectpersons had voted 3-1 at their Oct. 23 meeting to offer to share their Fire Rescue Department’s E-One ladder truck with Livermore Falls for $6,330 for six months. At Tuesday’s meeting, Livermore Falls Fire Chief Edward Hastings IV said it would cost between $11,200 and $14,000 to repair the Livermore Falls apparatus.

“That is a significant portion of the value of the truck altogether,” he said.

The seals around the rams that raise the ladder are cracked and need to be replaced. There are also other problems with the truck that need fixing, Hastings said.

He added that Jay has offered to share its ladder truck at no cost until the Livermore Falls ladder truck gets repaired.

“We have the money to fix the truck,” said Hastings, noting the town carried forward $21,926 from last year’s Fire Department budget that could be used for the repairs.

The board voted to make bidders for foreclosed properties submit a nonrefundable deposit and a security deposit to ensure timely cleanup and repair of the properties. The board also voted to make successful bidders for a property pay back taxes and sewer bills owed on them.

Property owner Dana Cummings pointed out that one person’s definition of a cleaned-up property might differ from someone else’s.

“The standards better be really laid out for these folks,” he said.

Selectmen discussed repairs that need to be made at the tennis courts by the recreation field on Foundry Road. Interim Town Manager Stephen J. Gould said that if they were rebuilt, they might last 20 years, whereas patching and fixing them would last five or six years before they required attention.

The town has received an estimate of about $40,000 to redo the courts. Removing brush around them and repairing the courts would cost around $17,000, said Gould, and it would cost around $12,000 if the town does some of the maintenance work.

“The more we can do in maintenance, the lower the cost will be,” Gould said.

Selectman George Cummings said he was in favor of fixing the courts, but someone would have to be responsible for periodic upkeep.

In other business, the board:

• Accepted a bid of $3,176 from Robert Hastings for a firetruck. Money from the bid will be put into the Fire Department’s capital reserve account.

• Accepted a bid of $877.77 from Jeremy Goding for a water tank, with funds to be put into the Fire Department’s capital reserve account.

• Set the next selectmen meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m.

bmatulaitis@sunmediagroup.net

Livermore Falls Town Office (File photo)