SHOREHAM — Shoreham voters on Dec. 2 will be asked to approve a five-year loan to fund a new, $177,901 truck for the community’s road department.
Local officials will explain the proposed purchase at a special meeting, slated for Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. in the town offices. Residents will then vote on the issue the next day, by Australian ballot, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., also at the town offices.
Shoreham Road Commissioner Loren Wood explained the town had been scheduled to consider a new truck purchase on Town Meeting Day this coming March. But Wood recently recommended to the selectboard that the town act more swiftly in light of a time-sensitive opportunity that would offer the community considerable savings on a 2015 Western Star truck.
The truck, currently located at J&P International in Colchester, was ordered by a community that ultimately decided not to follow through on the purchase. The truck is endowed with plow attachments, a wing and a sander, Wood noted.
“They are looking to unload it for a savings for the town of Shoreham,” Wood said of J&P’s offer, which he termed “tens of thousands of dollars” less than such a truck would normally cost.
Wood has signed a letter of intent to purchase the truck, contingent on a positive vote by Shoreham residents on Dec. 2.
It is a vehicle that would dramatically help a Shoreham fleet that includes a 2007 International, a 2004 Mac and an older, single-axle truck, according to Wood.
The town would be in line for a 2-percent interest rate over the five years of the loan, officials said.
“It would make a beautiful truck for Shoreham for years to come,” Wood said, adding members of the road crew have given the 2015 Western Star a thumbs-up after having taken it for a test drive with a full load of gravel.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].