Shutesbury Select Board Clears Grant Votes, Raises Questions on $800,000 Fire Truck

SHUTESBURY -- April 28, 2026, Shutesbury Select Board approves climate grant application and raises doubts about $800,000 fire truck warrant article. The board voted unanimously at its April 28 meeting to apply for a $50,000 Climate Leader Technical Assistance grant and to authorize Town Administrator Haley Bolio to sign the application. Board member Melissa Stalker said she could not support the fire truck replacement article at town meeting without more information, noting that Engine 2, the 1997 apparatus proposed for replacement, responded to just 41 calls this year while the department logged 57 medical calls out of 118 total, and that the financed purchase could approach $1 million. "Were there other options other than spending $800,000 on a new piece of equipment?" Stalker asked, calling for the town to consider leasing, rebuilding, or deferring until a five-year capital plan is in place. The board also heard that a new trash rack has been installed at the town's lake dam, and that oil tank remediation at the school cost roughly $54,000, with the town covering a $10,000 deductible after the spill was classified as sudden and accidental.