Melrose Select Board Approves Air Packs, Plow Truck in $329,000 Spending Round

MELROSE — February 20, 2020 — Melrose Select Board approves air packs, plow truck, and park board restructuring at February meeting. The board unanimously authorized the purchase of two fire department air packs from Alex Air Apparatus for $118,799.20, replacing units described as on their final cycle, and approved a new plow truck bid of $210,000 — below the $225,000 budgeted — while retaining the 1994 unit for supplemental plowing. Workers compensation insurance for 2020-2021 was approved at $81,284, split between the general fund at $60,201 and utilities at $21,023. The board also adopted Ordinance 2-2020 restructuring the park board to include two at-large public seats, and approved a 2021 fire department budget of $181,653, up slightly from $177,753, with a $26,283.21 credit flowing back to the townships the department serves. A volunteer fire official noted the department is currently down seven members and urged residents to apply.