ATHOL – The Capital Program Committee (CPC) Wednesday night began its annual series of meetings with department heads to consider capital spending priorities for the approaching fiscal year.

On Wednesday, Fire Chief Jeff Parker and Police Chief Craig Lundgren were the first to sit down with the committee to discuss their requests.

First up was Lundgren, who talked about the purchase of a new police cruiser. Documentation provided to the committee indicates the new vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe with a new cruiser laptop, will cost the town about $88,000. The first thing committee Chair Jim Smith wanted to know was the reason behind the switch from Ford to Chevy.

“We have already spent our (FY25) cruiser maintenance account by double,” said the chief. “We get $6,000 for the year for cruiser maintenance and repairs,” he said, adding that as of the end of January, the department has already spent nearly $14,000 on repairs, “and that’s only half-a-year through.”

Lundgren said that Fords aren’t as good as they once were, adding that while he’s used the vehicles for his entire career, many departments are making the change to Chevy.

“We’ve had transmission, catalytic converter problems, exhaust problems, water pumps – two years old – we’re replacing water pumps,” he said. “So I felt this is the year we should try something different. Every week we’re bringing a cruiser somewhere for something that’s wrong with it. Tomorrow, we’re bringing one for work because you can smell fumes in the car, and we’ve had it fixed three times.”

As an indication that supply lines are still an issue, Lundgren said it would be about 18 months before Athol could take delivery of a new cruiser. Asked by Smith if his request is for a hybrid vehicle, Lundgren answered in the negative.

The police chief also hopes the CPC will support his request for $61,000 for a Ford F-150 pickup truck for use by North Quabbin Regional Animal Control. Lundgren explained that on Jan. 27, an animal control officer was in an accident with the department’s van. CPC member Kathy Norton said that because the airbags deployed, the town was required to purchase an entirely new vehicle. Animal Control Officer Jennifer Arsenault said that officers are using their own vehicles to transport animals.

One of Fire Chief Jeff Parker’s priorities is the purchase of a new tanker or used pumper truck. Parker explained the new truck would replace two fire engines.

“Engine #3 is still in operation,” he explained. “It’s 27 years old, beyond the NFPA’s (National Fire Protection Association) recommendation for a backup pumper of 25 years. So we’re already two years over that.

“Engine #4 is out of service – has been for nearly a year now. The engine is fused – we’ve already had the engine replaced. We just can’t keep that truck on the road. Any time we put money into it, it just breaks down right away again. It’s costing us too much money to keep it on the road.”

Parker said it was his recommendation to take both vehicles out of service and replace them with a tanker.

“We haven’t had a tanker for roughly 15 years,” he said, explaining that “half of our town is outside the fire hydrant district. We’re often requesting tankers from other towns. It’s fine if they’re available, but it certainly does cause a delay.”

The fire chief noted the department had secured two new fire engines in recent years. One was fully funded with a grant, while the second paid for in part with grant monies. The remaining cost of that vehicle was paid for through a Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion.

“If unspent funds from the debt exclusion could be reallocated toward the purchase of a tanker truck,” he wrote in his funding request, “only $300,000 would be needed from Capital, and I have added a lease option that could pay that off over four years.”

If that isn’t possible, Parker said, he could begin looking for a used pumper. However, he added that he would be hesitant to proceed in that direction.

“We can start to look for something used on the internet,” he explained, “but thing with that is you just don’t know what you’re getting. You could be buying someone else’s problems.”

Parker is also looking for $37,500 to make the walkway and entryway at the fire station compliant with the Americans with Disability Act, and $44,000 for devices that do chest compression on patients in need of CPR if first responders are unavailable. The device currently in the department’s possession was purchased in 2008.

“The lifespan is 10 years, so they’re now seven years overdue to be replaced,” he said. “We have a service contract on them, which will no longer be renewed, and they won’t work on the devices anymore. We can’t get parts for them. It’s a device we can’t really go without.”

Smith said the CPC would take the requests from Lundgren and Parker under advisement as it moves forward with a review of other requests over the next several weeks. Smith said the CPC has been told by Town Manager Shaun Suhoski that the committee has about $1.1 million available in the Capital Improvements Account to invest in FY26.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.