Athens officials raised over $400,000 to buy a new fire ladder truck for the Athens Fire Department, although Athens City Council members discussed at yesterday’s City Council meeting that the sum would not be enough to cover the cost.

The new fire ladder truck, which would work alongside the current 20-year-old truck, would cost the city about $1.1 million, said Councilwoman Sherry Coon, D-2nd Ward.

She said city officials are unsure of how or when they would be able to come up with the extra $660,000 to pay for the truck.

“I personally would sort of lean toward borrowing the money and just purchasing the truck and get a much lower interest rate,” Coon said.

She said the current truck has to pass a safety test each year and has had no problems yet, but the fire department would like to have a new truck relatively soon.

They plan to revisit the discussion in a month.

City Council also discussed implementing a Front Porch Forum in Athens, which is an online neighborhood to help citizens connect and become involved in their community.

The forum began in Burlington, Vt., to help nearby neighbors meet, said Michael Wood-Lewis, co-founder of the forum, during his presentation to City Council yesterday.

Since then, the success of the forum has helped the program spread to 25 Vermont cities, Wood-Lewis said. He added that the program is receiving nationwide attention, and he is looking for opportunities to expand across the country.

The forum is used to help neighbors work together through certain issues such as finding a lost dog, organizing a block party or reporting a break-in, Wood-Lewis said. He added that residents of Vermont have used the forum to sell a house.

He said he started the forum because social isolation is increasing in the United States and he hopes to change that through his website.

He added that fewer stay-at-home moms, increased car travel and increased use of digital media might be the cause for the isolation.

“We’re all walking around with our heads stuck in the screen all the time,” Wood-Lewis said. “I do think all the digital stuff is a double-edged sword.”

City Council members are undecided about whether they are going to move forward with implementing the forum.