TURNERS FALLS — A meeting of the Turners Falls Fire District is scheduled for March 27. The warrant includes the establishment of a general operating budget for fiscal year 2022, proposed at nearly $3.2 million, plus a handful of equipment purchases.
The meeting will start at 10 a.m. in the Franklin County Technical School gymnasium. District Accountant Eileen Tela said the location was chosen because it is large enough keep people distanced from one another, and because the gym can be accessed without going through narrow hallways within the school.
This meeting effectively replaces the Turners Falls Fire District’s annual meeting, which is usually held in April. Tela said the Prudential Committee consulted with the district’s lawyers before moving the business typically conducted in the annual meeting to the March 27 special meeting instead.
The purchase of new radios is the largest special expense article on the warrant, at $125,000. Tela explained the new radio system is consistent with new technology that the area’s other emergency departments are transitioning to. She said the new radios are subsidized by state funding, and are actually worth about $300,000.
A new ambulance and a new truck for the Water Department are also notable purchases. Both are replacements of older vehicles, rather than expansions of the departments’ fleets, Tela said.
The new ambulance will replace a 2001 ambulance that has mechanical problems that would cost at least $15,000 to repair, Tela said. The old ambulance is also no longer consistent with state guidelines.
“Not only considering the fact that it’s got a major mechanical issue,” Tela explained, “we would have to upgrade it to these new standard requirements.”
The Water Department truck will replace a 2001 vehicle that is similarly due for replacement, Tela said.
There is also a $50,000 appropriation to save toward upgrading the water metering system. Tela said the new metering system would allow workers to read meters with a radio device while driving by, and thus would save time.
To view the full meeting warrant, visit bit.ly/30Sqbyr.
Reach Max Marcus at
mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.