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Repair Tech Industrial Contractors, near Franklin, made a proposal to the town of Windsor to put the renovation of a 1927 Norfolk & Western caboose back on track in the wake of an April 14 fire that had damaged the interior of the train car while it was at Repair Tech’s facility.

The Windsor Town Council voted 6-0 on May 13 to accept Repair Tech’s proposal while still operating under the $45,000 spending cap for external renovations that the council had set in March.

The council reached a consensus in December to pursue a process aimed at acquiring the caboose with the hope of ultimately putting it on display in Windsor as a tribute to the locality’s history as a train town. The caboose was donated to Windsor by Bishard Homes, the developer of the Suffolk property from which the caboose was moved by Windsor on March 29.

The town paid $12,350 to move the caboose to Repair Tech for exterior renovations.

After learning that there was a fire and prior to meeting with Repair Tech to learn the details about it, town officials had been pondering whether the renovation process would still be a viable option.

At the Town Council’s May 13 meeting, Town Manager William Saunders said, “The mayor and I were able to meet with a Mr. Nathan Sawyer, the president of Repair Tech, since our last meeting to review the caboose and the damage thereto and to talk about options to move forward.

“Following our meeting, I received a proposal from Mr. Sawyer that’s outlined as follows: ‘We propose to complete the following items at no charge to the town of Windsor because the caboose was damaged under our watch:

“‘1.) Replace the damaged roof sections;

“‘2.) Replace the damaged floor with a subfloor and tongue-and-groove unfinished pine floor;

“‘3.) Replace the interior wall sections with unfinished tongue-and-groove pine;

“‘4.) Replace exterior wall panels that are too damaged to repair;

“‘5.) Seal the exterior with epoxy primer.

“‘Our original agreement for repairing the rusted spots on the caboose as well as priming and painting the caboose remains in place. The town of Windsor will still be responsible for replacing the doors and windows and finishing the interior as was discussed as part of the original scope of work.’

“So that’s the proposal for the same amount that you dedicated to this project,” Saunders said to council members. “Repair Tech is willing to get us back to where we were before the fire, and I will leave that up to council’s consideration.”

Councilman David Adams said, “I guess I’ll make a motion to direct the town manager to move forward with the agreement as proposed by the Repair Tech principals.”

The motion was seconded, Windsor Mayor George Stubbs called for the vote, but then Councilman Walter Bernacki said, “That still falls under the auspices of the original motion for the ($45,000) cap, correct?”

“Absolutely,” Adams said. “Yes, sir. Absolutely.”

Adams asked Town Attorney Fred Taylor if his motion should be amended to establish that detail.

Taylor said, “You’re sort of adding an addendum to the terms that are already existing on the current contract, that’s how I view that, so I don’t think it’s necessary.”

The 6-0 vote promptly followed.