ERVING — In a brief Special Town Meeting, residents appropriated $60,000 for the replacement of a Highway Department loader.
The meeting lasted 11 minutes as 11 residents and several town board members unanimously approved the five articles on the warrant.
Chief among the requests was Article 2, which asked voters to appropriate $20,000 from the Highway Ford F-550 Truck Special Article and $40,000 from the Capital Stabilization Fund to help fund the lease of a John Deere 544 P-Tier loader for the Highway Department.
The new loader will replace the current 16-year-old John Deere loader, which Highway Superintendent Glenn McCrory previously said had “deterioration on the rollover protection system.”
The town, according to the Special Town Meeting warrant, plans to lease the loader for four years with the option to purchase the vehicle for $1 after the fourth year. Voters authorized the Selectboard to enter into a four-year lease when they approved Article 5.
Residents also approved appropriating $22,000 from the Capital Stabilization Fund for a replacement walk-in freezer/refrigerator at Erving Elementary School. Voters appropriated $45,000 at a previous Town Meeting, but the lowest bid for the project came in at $66,810, according to the Special Town Meeting warrant.
A clerical error regarding funding for Franklin County Technical School was also fixed when residents approved Article 4. During May’s Annual Town Meeting, the town approved $530,875 to fund the Franklin Tech, but an error said that funding would go into effect on “July 1, 2023.” Voters changed that to “July 1, 2022” on Wednesday evening.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.