Hampden approves funds for emergency service upgrades

Date: 11/1/2010

Nov. 1, 2010

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

HAMPDEN -- At its Special Town Meeting on Oct. 25, residents approved the funding for emergency equipment and training for the town's police and fire departments.

The primary purpose of the meeting was to decide to what use $182,000 in unappropriated available town funds should be put. The surplus of funds originated from two sources: leftover funds from the last fiscal budget and revenues that surpassed projections for previous the fiscal year.

Voters went against the recommendation of the Advisory Committee and elected to pass Article 5 of the meeting's warrant, giving the Fire Department $32,000 with which it will offer a stipend to volunteer firefighters attending training.

The Advisory Committee recommended no action be taken on the matter because its members felt the Board of Selectmen did not do an adequate job of explaining the method of payment and that, because the expense will be a annual one for the town, it should be addressed at the Annual Town Meeting in the spring.

"I want to make it clear that we support the firefighters and we are not opposed to this idea, but more details need to be worked out," Advisory Committee Chair Doug Boyd said. "We're simply sug-gesting postponing the program for another six months."

The Board of Selectmen, however, stood firm in their belief that they had done their due diligence with the issue.

"The Board of Selectment believes that this has been laid out satisfactorily," Selectman Richard Green said. "We're also concerned about the message [waiting six months] sends to our firefighters. In a perfect world, citizens would have voted upon this at the last Town Meeting, but sometimes you have to work with what you have in front of you."

A majority vote passed the initiative.

Voters also elected by a majority vote to allot $40,000 toward the purchase of a new police cruiser, which would replace the current Ford Explorer in the department's fleet. That Explorer is to be reassigned to the Fire Department.

The town also voted unanimously to appropriate $6,000 to repair another cruiser, which sustained damage to its engine that is not covered by insurance during a call this fall.

The allotment of $15,000 for new equipment for the Fire Department was also approved unanimously, as was the appropriation of $7,730 to new radio equipment for the Fire Department. The department received a grant $146,870 for the communications equipment, but the grant was contingent upon a 5 percent match by the town.

A total of $58,309 was also placed into the stabilization account, while $7,500 was approved for use on an engineering study for the refurbishing of the footbridge and further erosion control for the stream at Memorial Park. The study is necessary for a letter of intent to be presented to the conservation commission.