MEXICO, Maine — A public vote is scheduled Tuesday night in the town of Mexico that could help the fire department replace equipment destroyed by the storm in December, when about 18 inches of water flooded the facility.
Fire Chief Mat Theriault said he's hoping to get that money from the town's surplus account, which currently has $1.1 million.
Theriault said the town did not have flood insurance for the fire station.
By using money from the surplus, Theriault said it would not affect taxes. The fire chief is asking for $100,000 to replace 15 sets of damaged fire gear they urgently need.
The town initially allocated $100,000 for urgent and immediate repairs to the interior and exterior of the firehouse, for a professional cleaning crew to come and get rid of the mold, to paint the fire station, debris removal, and to get new appliances that were lost, including refrigerators, washing, and drying machine.
This new request, however, would fund replacements for the lost fire gear and would cover some additional cleanup and restoration expenses that would allow the department to operate with more efficiency.
"The Mexico Fire Department does have a reserve account, but it is basically there to replace fire trucks or large equipment, so that only has about $120,000 on it," Theriault explained. "If I appropriate $100,000 for this out of that, I would basically wipe that account out. I'd like to save that account because we have two fire trucks. ... One of them is 19 years old, and the other one is 22 years old, so they are going to need replacement, and that would be a good downpayment toward a fire truck."
The chief is hopeful FEMA will reimburse the town for a portion of those funds, but getting the approval and then the money takes a long time. He said he needs to get the new gear for his firefighters ASAP.
"Some people have been concerned that we are throwing a bunch of money into a station that we only plan to stay in for two or three more years, but we did kind of the minimum to our station to make it safe for our people," he said. "And the bulk of it, like these next $100,000, that's going toward the gear. Most of it is going toward the gear. That gear is obviously going to come with us to our new station. And even if the first $100,000, all of those appliances that we put into this station, they will move into the new station."
Mexico residents are asked to come out tonight at 6:30 p.m. and vote to approve or decline those funds.