Fort Fairfield Council approves purchase of fire truck, changes animal ordinance

4 years ago

FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — The Fort Fairfield Town Council voted on Wednesday to allow the town’s fire department to purchase a replacement ladder truck and to adjust the language of the local animal ordinance to better reflect the ordinance guidelines.

The council voted to allow the fire department to begin searching for a used ladder truck to replace the current truck, which has been out of service for several months due to mechanical failures. The cost to repair the truck could exceed $400,000, Town Clerk Billie Jo Sharpe said..

Councilors agreed to authorize the fire department to spend no more than $649,000 on a replacement truck.

The council also approved changes to the language of the town’s animal ordinance. Sharpe said that previously the ordinance did not make it clear that fowl and livestock are not allowed in the Compact Zone, which consists of the town limits, only in the Rural Farm Zone.

According to the animal ordinance, any residents living in the Compact Zone cannot classify fowl or livestock as pets, only in the Rural Farm Zone.

The next Fort Fairfield Town Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 12.

An earlier version of this story said the cost to repair the ladder truck could exceed $649,000. That is the amount the council authorized as a maximum to spend on a replacement. The repair costs could exceed $400,000. Also the correct zone in the town’s animal ordinance is Compact Zone.