LIMESTONE, Maine — Roughly 25 Limestone residents took about three minutes during a short special town meeting Wednesday to approve the purchase of a new $168,600 loader for the community’s highway department.
Residents gathered at the Limestone Consolidated School first elected Patrick St. Peter as moderator and then quickly moved to vote, without discussion, on approving the funding for a 2018 Volvo L90H Wheel Loader from Chadwick-BaRoss of Caribou.
The motion specifically involved paying $70,000 down and then entering into an agreement with Katahdin Trust to pay off the remainder over the course of five years at a 2.8 percent interest rate.
Following the positive vote, the meeting was adjourned after only three and a half minutes.
The town’s current 1991 Michigan loader, which was purchased brand new, sat outside the school during the meeting. The town will trade the old loader in for $20,600, knocking down the overall price of the new machine to $148,000.
Following the special town meeting, the Select Board members met and sealed the deal by voting to sign a commitment letter for the loan with Katahdin Trust Company. Before the board vote, Interim Town Manager Tom Stevens clarified that the annual payment on the five-year loan would be $15,215.49.
