A donated fire vehicle will be going out for refurbishment, after the Select Board approved a bid for the work on Tuesday night.

Town Administrator Deb Deaton said the board had a scheduled bid opening on Tuesday for the work, but only received one bid, which was accepted unanimously. The bid was for $214,993 from Bulldog Fire and Emergency Apparatus. Earlier this year, voters approved the use of up to $227,000 from capital reserves to refurbish the truck. Deaton said the work is estimated to take up to nine months before the truck can officially join the department’s fleet.

In other Fire Department business, the board held four non-public sessions, under the provision for hiring public employees, regarding the future structuring of the department. Fire Chief Gary Somero has announced that he intends to retire June 30 from his positions as fire chief and building inspector.

Somero has recommended that upon his retirement, his current second-in-command and Deputy Chief Ben Hatcher become the fire chief. He also recommended that Deputy Chief Cody Vaillancourt, currently third in command, move into Hatcher’s position as second-in-command. Deaton said that following the non-public sessions, the Select Board did not announce any hiring decisions at this time.

Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the board filled two appointments to the Cemetery Trustees that did not have any candidates during this year’s election. Both appointments will be for a single year, with the remaining two years of the term to be put on the ballot for 2025.

One appointment was Bernard Honeywell, who is a current member of the Cemetery Trustees who had elected not to run for another term but agreed to stay in his position. The other was Deaton, who agreed to serve as a first-time member of the board. Both appointments were approved by the Select Board.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.