SHERBURNE – Two new fire trucks could make their way to the Village of Sherburne sometime next year.
Volunteer Fire Chief Pat Lawrence, who will challenge Mayor William Acee in a race for mayor on March 16 (see sidebar), said a 20-year-old tanker, 27-year-old engine and 17-year-old rescue truck are in dire need of replacing. The tanker, in particular, is leaking.
Acee said the council had discussed replacing the three trucks with two vehicles in meetings conducted over the last few months. He said that he “remains cautious on any spending,” however, due to the state’s fiscal crisis and general economic conditions.
Village trustees voted to bond for the trucks on Monday. Prices aren’t to exceed $150,000 for a tanker and $450,000 for a combined rescue/ pumper engine. Acee said a combination of fire department reserve funds and possibly low interest loans would be used to afford the equipment.
An historic agreement for fire services between the village and the town calls for the town to purchase tanker trucks when needed, according to Lawrence. The town contracts annually with the village for fire and emergency services protection, and since the village has hydrants and doesn’t need tankers, the town has traditionally purchased them and given them to the village.
Town of Sherburne Supervisor William Craine could not be reached for comment before press time this morning.
The village’s fire department and emergency services squads number 50 volunteers.
The department’s reserve funds total approximately $156,000 currently, and Lawrence said he anticipates having that amount in reserve when it comes time to purchase the engine/rescue vehicle.
The resolution was adopted subject to permissive referendum. It was to be posted and published locally today. Qualified electors of the village have 30 days after a resolution is adopted to petition that it be submitted to a vote. If no petition is filed, the resolution becomes effective immediately.
In other village news, Superintendent of Highways Thomas J. Turner said he is cautious about asking taxpayers to afford an extensive overhaul of Chenango Avenue during these uncertain times.
Turner told the village council that a permanent fix, at a public works contract estimate of about $800,000, would require reconstructing the granular subbase and putting down a new surface treatment. Water and sewer lines cut under the 1950s era roadway through the years were backfilled with substandard gravel materials with no attention to drainage, he said, and heating and frost heaving of the roadbed during different times of the year have damaged it.
“You can feel each one of those trenches when you drive on it,” he said. “We patch it as necessary and put on an overlay on in the summer, but a frost heave would bring the same problem back.”
Turner said he would like to initiate the project this year, if funding permits. “With today’s economy, that’s a lot of money to have to come up with,” he said, adding that the work isn’t budgeted and would cost more than the capital improvement budget would allow on a yearly basis.