East Lyme — Proposals to purchase a firetruck, complete tennis court renovations and repair town roads gained approval at a town meeting Monday.  

Residents approved, by a majority vote, an extra $105,000 to complete renovations to the tennis court, for an overall project cost of $820,000. Residents had previously approved $715,000 in bonding for the project, but the additional $105,000 was needed to install tennis court lights to complete the project. 

First Selectman Mark Nickerson said that while residents had approved the scope of the project, the project's costs escalated once workers dug underneath the court and discovered an extensive amount of work was needed to improve the drainage system and make the ground solid.

Voters also agreed for the town to bond $900,000 for road repairs and maintenance and $1.3 million for a replacement ladder truck for the Flanders Fire Department. 

Fire department representatives said they are aiming to purchase a demo truck that would save about $158,000 off the estimated cost.

On Monday, bonding of $1.09 million to replace aging fuel tanks, currently at 12 Roxbury Road, and install a new salt shed also received approval from residents.

The town plans to install a new fueling station at the Field Services Building at Capitol Drive, but keep a diesel tank at a Roxbury Road site for school buses and possibly fire trucks, said Nickerson. The new salt shed will have the capacity to hold an entire season's worth of salt and will be located at Capitol Drive, so trucks can easily reach it.

A proposal, approved by the Board of Selectmen, to bond $40,000 to replace the condemned dugouts at the East Lyme High School baseball field was taken off Monday's agenda, because the Board of Finance had not approved it.

In addition to the bonding proposals, residents on Monday also voted in favor of appropriations of $417,056 to purchase two police vehicles, a dump truck and a payloader within the town's vehicle acquisition program, and $325,072 to purchase smart boards, replacement computer equipment and a new student information management system for the school district.

They also approved $45,000 to replace the animal control officer's vehicle. Nickerson said a grant from Dominion will fund $25,000 of the purchase.

Voters also gave the town the go-ahead to appropriate $329,800 for projects within the town's capital improvement plan, including for roof projects, townwide HVAC replacement and sidewalk repair, equipment for the new police vehicles, software, and an upcoming reevaluation.

A grant of up to $25,240 for speed enforcement on high risk rural roads, from the Department of Transportation, was also approved.

The tennis court proposal drew the most public comment on Monday.

East Lyme High School boys' tennis team coach Susan Welshock said the lights on the court would not only help the boys' and girls' tennis teams, but also allow townspeople to enjoy the facility in the evening.

"I believe everyone in this community would use the lights," she said.

Ron Rando spoke in opposition, saying that he had previously notified officials of swamp land at that location.

"I told the town of East Lyme and the Board of Education that they were going to have problems when they dug that tennis court up, and they didn't do anything about it," he said.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich