Williamstown Calls Another Special Fire District Meeting, Truck Replacement on Agenda
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — For the second time in two months, the Prudential Committee has called a special meeting of the Fire District.
This time, it will be cleaning up a decision it made at the July 1 special meeting and reversing one district voters made in May 2024.
At a special meeting of the Prudential Committee on Wednesday, the panel voted to set a special meeting for Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 4 p.m. at the Water Street station.
Article 1 on the two-item warrant will ask meeting members to transfer $415,698 from free cash to put toward interest on bond anticipation notes related to the new Main Street station project.
That is a payment the district thought it made at its July 1 meeting, where attendees authorized the municipal entity to "raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds" to make the bond payment that will come due in fiscal year 2026.
The commonwealth's Department of Revenue, however, ruled that action taken on the first day of the new fiscal year was too late by 24 hours. The same action on June 30 would have been valid, but the July 1 vote was not, the DOR determined.
To correct what Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi referred to as a "technicality," the district needs to have a new vote, focused solely on the transfer of free cash, the "available funds" referenced in the July 1 warrant.
The second article on the Sept. 2 meeting warrant seeks to reallocate $420,000 the May 2024 annual district meeting appropriated for a rescue truck and instead apply it to the acquisition of a replacement pumper.
Engine 1 in the fire department's fleet was unexpectedly removed from service in June "due to safety concerns," according to the warrant article. After Wednesday's committee meeting, Moresi confirmed that the issues were related to corrosion in the underbody of the vehicle that the committee first discussed in April 2024
In 2024, the Prudential Committee and then Chief Craig Pedercini, now a member of the committee, discussed possibly replacing Engine 1 with the smaller mini rescue truck.
On Tuesday, Chief Jeffrey Dias said replacing the pumper is an urgent need.
"As much as the rescue truck is a great idea and would be valuable to the department … we need a pumper truck more than anything," Dias said. "The rescue truck would be a great addition. There are too many needs right now to justify it when we have so many needs that come one right after another."
If the members of the Sept. 2 special district meeting agree, the district will be able to cancel the order for the rescue truck and apply all the money it already has deposited to the manufacturer toward a pumper apparatus, Moresi said.
Eventually, the district's voters will be asked to approve financing for the full cost of a replacement pumper — Pedercini estimated a seven-figure price tag back in April 2024 — but getting the order started in early September, given an 18-month lead time for replacement apparatuses, gives officials time to develop a plan for the full payment.
Dias said Wednesday there is an advantage for taxpayers in getting the pumper ordered as soon as possible. The industry is anticipating new emissions standards that could add "a couple hundred thousand dollars" to the cost of the apparatus, he said.
The Prudential Committee did hear some good news about the district's apparatuses.
Dias reported that the district's ladder truck recently underwent a recertification, and, while items were identified that need correction, the apparatus does not need to be replaced.
"It's not cheap [to repair], but compared to $2.2 [million] to $2.5 million for a new truck … getting another seven to 10 years out of [the ladder truck for a relatively small amount of money is probably the best news I've had since I came here," he said.
Tags: fire truck, special meeting,
