Sangerville fire truck could return to service for $5,000

SANGERVILLE — The Sangerville Fire Department’s 1993 fire department tanker truck could be back on the road in the near future.

Whited Ford has given Fire Chief Orman Gray an estimate of $4,955 for the necessary repairs to give the vehicle an inspection sticker in order to be put back in service. Gray told the Select Board during an on Aug. 19 meeting  at the fire station that he is unsure of the timeline, but repairs could be done by month’s end. 

The vehicle, with 400,000 miles and a standard transmission, has problems such as oil leaks, brake issues and frame rot, and is off the road due to a failed inspection. 

Upon getting the estimate, Gray asked Whited Ford several times if the estimate would cover everything needed to get the fire truck to pass inspection. He was told it would.

Gray had gotten another quote for $10,000 from TB Equipment & Rentals of Bangor. The Select Board opted to table a decision until Aug. 19 until at least one more quote was in hand.

Gray is pursuing repairs instead of buying a new truck, which could cost $580,000 and require annual payments of $70,000 for more than a decade.

The repair work by Whited Ford would ideally allow the tanker truck to last for several more years while the town develops a plan to replace the vehicle with a used or new model. Money could be put into a reserve account year by year to help reduce the cost when a purchase is made.

In other business, members of the town hall committee were given the go -ahead to haul trash out of the building. Removing garbage bags from the first floor will make for better pictures in a grant application. 

The town hall committee and Sangerville Historical Society are helping Town Manager Brian Mullis seek funding of up to $500,000 in the form of a  Maine Historic Community Building Grant. Earlier this year Sangerville had its application for a $250,000 grant for the town hall turned down. A round two application can be sent by mid-October and the community could receive even more funding in this next round.

The town hall, built in 1901 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been vacant for several years due to safety hazards. Fundraising efforts are underway to restore the building. The town office has moved across the street into rented space, paying $1,700 a month at 93 Main St., and fundraising efforts are underway to restore the building. 

“One piece of that is we are going to have photos inside and outside the building that are going to be part of the grant package,” Mullis said. He agrees with the committee that images would look much better without trash.

Committee members are on the insurance policy so they can enter the town haul and haul out the trash bags and place these in a dumpster.

Earlier this month, the Sangerville Historical Society pledged to sell its museum property at 9 Douty Hill Road to cover the 25% match required by the Maine Historic Community Building Grant.

Three real estate agents have assessed the museum property at approximately $100,000. Pledges and other fundraisers would help get $125,000 to meet the full match requirement.

The hope is the historical society would be able to have a new home for its collection and operations in the renovated town hall, which in turn would lead to greater visibility in the building space that formerly housed the library.

Should the grant application not be successful, then the town will continue to work on other grants and money people have pledged will still go toward the town hall.

A sum of $400,000 was raised at the 2024 annual town meeting, which is now in a capital reserve account. About $42,000 has been used for roof costs to put the account at nearly $360,000.

This amount plus a $500,000 grant and $125,000 from the historical society would equal close to $1 million. Mullis is working on other grant opportunities to reach seven figures by next spring.

Renovation costs depend on what work is done. The foundation should be secured first in order to have occupancy in the town hall again, but upper floor work could be put off if this section of the building is closed. 

The foundation work was estimated around $440,000, but the amount has likely risen in recent years. Another $10,000 to $20,000 is needed to fix wiring and lighting to pass insurance inspections.

“What we’re doing is laying out the process to bring correct information,” Select Chair Jeff Peters said. “We are not committing to anything without bringing it to the people. But we can not bring it to the people until we have a real solid (cost).”

“Before any large decisions are made, we’ll have a chance to all talk about it,” he said.

Engineering costs will likely be authorized soon to produce solid cost estimates.

At next March’s annual town meeting, officials plan to let residents know what has been done and present upcoming plans for a vote.