DALTON, Mass.—The Select Board voted to explore how to reclaim the remaining American Rescue Plan funds allocated for the Fire Districts Ladder truck due to delays.

 

The ordered ladder truck has faced many production delays, and it is unclear when the town will receive it. 

 

Despite earlier reports from the district that the ladder truck had entered the paint booth in August, it was disclosed in a board meeting in October that the truck was far from completion. 

 

In 2022, the Select Board approved the transfer of $119,500 in ARPA funds to the Fire District for the purchase of the refurbished ladder truck. 

 

Members of the Fire District visited Northern Fire Equipment, located in Buffalo, N.Y., and discovered the true state of its "new" ladder truck. 

 

The board asked legal council to review whether the town can reclaim the remaining $42,500 of ARPA funds to ensure that the funds are used correctly. 

 

"We want to make sure that [the funds] are applied correctly and that there's not a situation of fraud in this purchase," Select Board chair Joe Diver said. 

 

The Select Board also voted to report Northern Fire Equipment to the Massachusetts District Attorney General’s office for fraud. The select board asked legal council to review Northern Fire Equipment’s contract to see if there were any violations that would lead to its cancellation.

 

Although the ladder truck is the Fire District’s responsibility, the board stepped in and investigated because town funds are involved in the truck. The Fire District and town are two separate governing bodies.

 

A downpayment of $77,000 was paid to Northern Fire Equipment on Oct.18, 2022. The district is holding the remaining funds in a separate account, Town Manager Tom Hutcheson said. 

 

"I do think the district recognizes that that particular process is broken, and I think now they have engaged legal counsel and tried to help fix it," Hutcheson said. 

 

"Given the amount of time that the vendor has had to repair the truck and the apparent lack of progress, I can't say that I have confidence that by the time we're required to have committed that money next year that we'll be able to continue our commitment to that project."

 

The town must spend its ARPA funds by the end of fiscal year 2024 or they lose the money.

 

iBerkshires reached out to Dalton Fire District for comment but has not received a response at the time of publishing. 

 

Diver attended the monthly Board Of Water Commissioners meeting to discuss the situation but was unable to talk. The commissioners quickly closed the meeting since the chair was out sick. There were enough commissioners for a quorum. 

 

The department had to sideline its 32-year-old ladder truck in 2022 due to mechanical and safety concerns. 

 

In other news: 

 

The Select Board also discussed the possibility of adding the dissolution of the Fire District to a future town meeting warrant.