PARIS — A new plow truck will take to the town’s streets this winter after selectmen approved $137,000 in bids.
At their meeting Monday night, selectmen approved the purchase of a new truck cab and chassis from Freightliner Trucks for $67,636 and a plow from H.P. Fairfield for $70,123.
The two bids together make one plow truck, Town Manager Amy Bernard said.
The cost includes a $13,000 deduction for the trade-in value of the town’s 1997 Ford L8000.
The truck will be primarily driven in town during snowstorms and is a smaller, less-expensive unit than those employed to tackle rural back roads.
The town received additional bids for the chassis from International Trucks for $74,665, and $70,485 from Viking-Cives for the plow.
Funding for the purchase has accumulated to $150,00, set aside by voters over the past two years, Bernard said.
“We own a Freightliner or two, and they seem to be a good, sturdy vehicle, so there is no problem with going with that lowest bid,” she said.
Newly elected Selectwoman Janet Jamison asked whether it would be wiser to purchase the truck from Viking-Cives, whose Lewiston location is closer than H.P. Fairfield’s Scarborough and Skowhegan stores.
Prompted by a question from selectmen Robert Wessels, Highway Director James Hutchinson said the town received a surprisingly good deal for the trade-in value for the truck, which has worked “hard hours” and consumes a large quantity of oil.
“It’s definitely more than I would have paid for it,” Hutchinson said.
The town’s fleet of winter trucks consists of H.P. Fairfield plow trucks, and swapping companies would entail purchasing and storing replacement parts at an additional cost, Hutchinson said.
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