JAY — Two selectpersons volunteered Monday for a committee charged with looking at options for the aging fuel tanks at the Highway Garage and fuel management.

Highway foreman John Johnson told the Board of Selectpersons that he came before the board repeatedly for the past three or four years to remind them that the 19-year-old underground tanks could start leaking at any time.

The town used to have both gas and diesel pumps at the garage that were used by all town departments to fill up vehicles. The town changed to having just diesel in both tanks for town vehicles. The vehicles that run on gas use a local filling station that closes at 9 p.m.

The replacement of the diesel tanks with above ground tanks and pumps would cost between $60,000 and $90,000, and if the town wanted to go back to providing both gas and diesel, it is estimated to cost up to $120,000.

“If we’re going this route, I hope you also go with gas,” police Chief Larry White Sr. said.

There is a public safety issue. The gas station the town uses closes at 9 p.m. and if police get busy they sometimes are unable to get to the station to get gas before it closes, he said. They would be better off if the cruisers could return to filling up at the town’s garage, he said.

Johnson asked if the money he will have remaining in the Highway Department and Transfer Station accounts could be put into a reserve account instead of lapsing into the general fund as of July 1.

He said he read that selectpersons allowed Sewer Department Supervisor Mark Holt to put leftover money from his department’s accounts — between $30,000 to $40,000 — in reserve accounts to help pay for a bar rack repair at the Livermore Falls Sewer Treatment Plant. The town shares operating and maintenance costs of the plant. The repair is expected to cost $150,000 or so.

Town Manager Ruth Cushman said the money was able to be put in a reserve because there was an invoice. The two sewer departments have been working on the repair for several months.

There would have to be a special town meeting to put the highway and transfer station unspent funds in reserve.

The money will lapse into the town’s undesignated revenue and selectpersons can call a town meeting to see if people want to use money from that account to install new pumps and tanks.

Cushman asked selectpersons if they would be willing to have a town meeting.

“I don’t like making quick decisions,” Board of Selectpersons Chairman Steve McCourt said. He and other selectpersons said they would need to see some financial figures before a decision is made to see if it would be a benefit to the town.

It would take a long time to recoup the money, Cushman said.

White reiterated there is a real public safety issue involved.

After more discussion, Cushman said she would like to get a feel from the board on what they want.

She said Johnson is very busy and has a lot on his plate. She does not want him trying to cram in doing the ground work for the project and getting estimates if selectpersons are not going to act on it again. He has presented plans before and selectpersons have taken no action, she said.

Merrill and Goding volunteered to work with Johnson to develop a plan and make a recommendation to the full board.

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