NORWAY — The majority of voters gave the go-ahead to selectmen Thursday night to spend $330,000 for the purchase of a used ladder truck.

A handful of voters objected, saying, in part, the town could not afford another large and unscheduled expenditure and questioned how well the used ladder truck was vetted.

About 50 people, including a large contingent of firefighters, turned out for the special town meeting that allowed the selectmen to borrow $220,000 and take $110,000 from the firetruck reserve to purchase to 100-foot-tall ladder truck from Manassas, Va., where it is currently housed.

The multipurpose truck will replace the 1980 ladder truck that has been out of service since August.

The vote gave Fire Chief Dennis Yates the go-ahead to purchase the 2004 Pierce Dash with a 100-foot-tall platform. The Norway Fire Department mechanics have inspected the truck they found through a broker and told voters that it’s a bargain.

“You will find nothing else like it,” said town mechanic Art Chappell, one of four people who went to Virginia to inspect the truck. The truck has been serviced meticulously by its builder, he said.

The new truck has only 28,000 miles on it and is being sold because it is too big to be used on some of their streets.

Norway crews will be trained on how to use the truck, Yates said.

Following the special town meeting, Town Manager David Holt announced the bids on the 1980 ladder truck and other surplus town vehicles.

The board agreed to give Holt and Yates the authority to find a new purchaser for the truck after the highest bid came in under the minimum set.

The $1,010 high bid by Don Mason of Bryant Pond was rejected because it was under the $5,000 minimum bid set. Town officials think they may be able to find someone who will pay more for the ladder truck.

Selectmen also heard a report by Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey Whitman, who worked with the Storage Committee over the past year or so, to develop a way to expand space at the Town Office.

The town is in dire need of more vault space in addition to other space needs, Corey Whitman said.

Corey Whitman offered two alternatives, including revamping the existing space, at a cost of $499,140. The second option would provide new space for the Police Department and other needed space in the Town Office at a cost of $1,341,000.

Holt said the committee was asked to come up with plans and numbers so that down the road, selectmen will have the necessary information available to make long-term decisions.

In other selectmen news, the town heard a report from Michele Windsor of the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District on the efforts to control erosion that is affecting the Crooked River watershed.

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