ROYALSTON — Members of Royalston’s Selectboard, at their meeting on Tuesday, April 5, heeded the advice of the town’s legislative representatives and voted to seek a $60,000 earmark in the next state budget.
“Municipalities are encouraged,” said board Chair Deb D’Amico, “to ask their legislators to insert into the budget earmark requests that are for specific projects in various towns. I don’t think, in my memory, we’ve ever done one.
“We have — this year — one request from the Fire Chief for an earmark. He actually reached out to Rep. Whipps and Sen. Comerford, as long ago as October, with his request. They advised that he circle back to the Selectboard to make sure that the board doesn’t have other earmark requests in the pipeline. The legislators for our district look to the Selectboard to be the lead on this; they’re looking for us to also back these.”
D’Amico then explained that Fire Chief Eric Jack is seeking an earmark of $60,000 for the purchase of a pickup truck that could be used to tow the department trailer that responds to lost and/or injured hikers and that is used in the department’s role in the regional Large Animal Rescue team. The vehicle could also be used for transportation for firefighters traveling to the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stow for training and certification.
“Currently,” D’Amico continued, “this trailer is being pulled by the brush truck, which can pull it, but it’s too big and cumbersome to get to spots where these kind of rescues are usually staged.
“I happened to see (state Sen.) Jo Comerford a couple of weeks ago, and she encouraged us to ask for around $60,000 for some kind of earmark for the town. So, I spoke with Chief Jack today. He said that $60,000 would be ample to purchase a pickup truck that could pull this trailer.
“He is also looking for a vehicle that could be the ‘around town’ vehicle for the fire chief. Right now, there isn’t one. I asked him if this vehicle could double as that and he said it could.”
D’Amico said she asked Comerford about an idea floated by former Selectboard member Roland Hamel that the earmark be targeted to the town’s stabilization account. However, she was told by members of the Senator’s staff that earmarks must go exclusively to specific projects or capital purchases.
While expressing support for Chief Jack’s request, board member Chris Long said, “We’re going to be looking for $50,000, $60,000 to stabilize the exterior of Whitney Hall; the painting, the repairs that are needed for the exterior of the building. I was thinking of that. But I repeat, this is a specific request from a specific department and the case was very well argued.”
“I do know,” said D’Amico, “that the rescue squad — the police department, the fire department — have been responding to increasingly frequent call for rescues in these tight spots. So, (Jack’s request) seems to make sense, especially given that the chief is looking for a vehicle.”
New board member Rick Martin said there was talk of the police department seeking a new vehicle, with plans to transfer the old one to the Fire Department for refurbishment and reuse. It turns out, however, that that won’t happen until the following fiscal year. It was also noted the vehicle in question wouldn’t be large enough to pull the trailer.
When the question was asked whether any funds would be left over from the purchase of a new pickup, resident and DPW employee Mike Truehart interjected, “First and foremost, $60,000 doesn’t buy much of a vehicle nowadays. Sixty is cheap. It sounds like an astounding number, but that trailer is going to need at least a four-wheel drive, three-quarter ton chassis. If you can get one of them for sixty grand, you’d better buy it.
“The other side of it is, that police cruiser is not suspension for towing anything of that size. So, that vehicle really wouldn’t be in the mix for that type of operation. What he’s asking for is a vehicle adequate to do that job and the police cruiser really isn’t in the loop for that.”
“(Jack) seemed to think that $60,000 would do it,” D’Amico replied. “He said if it goes a little over, he’s got some money from, I think, the EMS association. He’s also looking to sell some hose reels. He’s brought a lot of money in. So, he was confident that $60,000 would do it.”
“If you would spend $60,000 on an older vehicle that maybe comes with low mileage, you might even be able to do it for less than that money. But you have to shop carefully and know what you’re buying.”
Ultimately, the Selectboard voted unanimously to support Chief Jack’s earmark recommendation.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.