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Cushing guarantees $13,500 toward new rescue squad heart monitor
Summary
Selectmen voted unanimously to guarantee $13,500 from the Ambulance Replacement Fund toward half the $27,000 cost of a new heart monitor after Rescue Squad leaders said the current unit will be out of warranty by year’s end and a vendor’s price expires this month.
Chair Alton Grover and the Cushing Selectmen on March 23 guaranteed $13,500 from the town’s Ambulance Replacement Account to help pay for a new heart monitor for the town’s Rescue Squad.
Director Helen Darmara, Andrew Blanchard and Austin Donaghy told the board the squad’s existing monitor "would run out of warranty at the end of the year" and described the unit as "vital equipment that must be replaced before then." They said the new model is compatible with other county rescue services, weighs less and has a $700 trade‑in allowance for the old unit. The vendor’s price was said to be valid only through the end of the month, creating urgency to commit before a town meeting could be convened.
Selectman Laurie Haynes moved and Selectman Martha Marchut seconded a motion "to guarantee funding from the Ambulance Replacement Account in the amount of $13,500, with the understanding that any contributions would go back into that fund." The motion carried 4-0-0.
Donaghy said the squad would pursue grant funding but needed assurance the town would hold the funds if the squad committed to the purchase. The board did not specify an exact procurement timeline beyond approving the funding guarantee.
The guarantee covers half of the $27,000 cost cited by the squad; the transcript records a $700 trade‑in allowance and states that Friends of Cushing Rescue did not have sufficient funds to pay the entire price.
