The Milo Fire Department is looking to replace its ladder truck

MILO – The Milo Fire Department ladder truck that is more than 40 years old needs to be replaced. Department officials have been given the official green light by city officials to begin searching for a different vehicle and the estimated $200,000 purchase price will be included in the upcoming budget process.

During the Select Board meeting on Nov. 14, Fire Chief Matt Demers He said insurance wouldn’t cover the $20,000 in repairs needed for the nearly 42-year-old aerial platform truck. He said the original purchase price was $95,000 and he began researching potential replacement vehicles on his own.

“For no more than $200,000, I think we can have a truck that will serve this community well,” Demers said.

“With the new station coming, we discussed it and it would be better to look for a truck that would fit the new station, not isolate it from the truck that would fit this station,” he said. “That would open up the doors a lot more to the options.”

“We’ve been throwing good money upon good money at that truck since we’ve owned it, and it’s not going to stop,” the chief said. “We are already seeing rust issues that need to be addressed immediately, as well as mechanical things that continue to go wrong with that truck.”

When asked, he said the vehicle would be good for parts, and the fire department has had trouble finding components in the past.

City Manager Robert Caney said the Public Safety Building is at least 24 months away from opening, as the project is several months away from going out to bid with an environmental assessment for the proposed Park Street site still pending.

The city is currently in the early planning stages for a new building to house the fire, police and public works departments. The community could spend up to $6,375,000 in USDA funds for the Public Safety Building, which is planned near the business park and across the road from the Milo Water District office less than a mile down the street from the 100-year-old city. The hall where the fire and police departments are currently located.

Demers said a few residents have offered to house a new truck in the meantime because it may not fit into the current station below City Hall.

Purchasing the trucks was not included in current and previous municipal budgets, so a loan would be needed, he said. Preparations for the 2024-25 fund will begin next month and truck costs could be included.

The Select Board will make a decision to include a relevant article in the memorandum of the annual city meeting in March, Caney said. “Ladder truck, you definitely need that,” he said.

Demers said a call earlier in the day put the department at 325 calls for 2023. “280 was the most calls we had in a year and that was last year,” the chief said, saying the fire department remains within budget. He said there was a structure fire last weekend and two more last month.

The President thanked his staff for the good turnout as well as the surrounding communities for the mutual aid coverage. “This is how we fight fires in Piscataquis County now, relying heavily on mutual aid,” he said.

In other work, Law Enforcement Officer Steve Quist said he was working in property maintenance with 33 active cases and two in the court system at present. Notices have been sent to some property owners in violation of city ordinances, and if there is no response, fines of up to $100 per day could be imposed, he said.

“It’s gotten some response, and there’s some action being taken on its own,” Quist said.

He said the ad hoc economic development group “Friends of Milo” is meeting Tuesday.

The group spoke with Canadian Pacific Railway representatives about the company selling or leasing land adjacent to the Derby Shops for industrial development.

“Hopefully we can provide an opportunity for someone to come in and develop that land that they’re not using,” Quist said. “It would be off their tax rolls and on someone else’s tax rolls. It would be good for the city because we don’t have an industrial park.”

The former Katahdin Country Club is another area of ​​the city that could be reopened or redeveloped, he said.

“They don’t really speak for the city, they speak for the small group,” Kanye said of Milo’s friends. He suggested to the Select Council that a committee be formed to work under their auspices. The city will work with the Maine Municipal Association to ensure the formation is done correctly.

This will help the group, the city manager said, noting they may be authorized by the Select Board to seek grant funding.

“You have a group of volunteers who want to help market the city and bring in businesses and our employees, and we don’t have the time to devote to that,” Caney said.

Caney said he received a certificate from the city to present to Bissell Brothers Brewing, Three Rivers recognizing the establishment as a 2023 Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.

No one from the Bissell Brothers attended the November 14 meeting, so Kanye will drop testimony.