Alna selectmen on May 23 went with Treasurer Amy Stockford’s recommendation to finance the next fire truck through Bath Savings. First Selectman Nick Johnson said the interest rate is 6.17%. “However, she recommended it due to they only are going to require just a minimal payment on the interest the first two years until we actually have to draw on it.”

And he said if the town continues putting $125,000 a year toward the truck, that will help pay off the loan more quickly; and the offer includes no penalty for an early payoff. 

The truck’s builder will not start to build it until the town has shown it can pay for it, selectmen said. Fire Chief Mike Trask said the town does not have to pay the company until the truck is accepted. 

Selectmen said Granite Fire Apparatus offered a 5.48% interest rate; Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, 5.92%; and Maine Municipal Bond Bank, “anywhere from 3.59 to 4.3%,” Johnson said. Participants discussed possibly involving the bond bank later. 

Also May 23, the board kept Code Enforcement Officer William Butler for another year. And some residents expressed interest in blocking solar farms by altering the solar ordinance or permit fees. Planning Board Chair Cathy Johnson offered to put "discussion of solar ordinance" on that board's July agenda. "And we'll just have a conversation and see what's on people's minds and whether there's interest in doing some amendments ..."