DIXFIELD — The Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 Monday evening to allow the Public Works Department to purchase a $1,500 wood chipper from the state that was earmarked for auction later this year.
Public Works Director Randy Glover said that it costs the town “between $1,500 and $2,000 a month to rent a chipper, and $500 a week.”
“Every road in town right now is absolutely terrible,” Glover said. “Science Hill Road needs a lot of chipping, and East Dixfield needs a lot of chipping. I was looking at pricing, and you’re looking at $1,500 per month to rent one. You’re losing time going to pick it up, and you’re losing more time dropping it back off.”
Earlier in the month, Glover said that he learned about a wood chipper that the state was going to send to auction at a greatly reduced price.
“It was a surplus truck, and they were going to send it to auction, but they said we could intercept it before that happens,” Glover said.
“How much is it?” Board of Selectmen Chairman Hart Daley asked.
“$1,500,” Glover said.
One resident in the back muttered, “That’s a no-brainer.”
Glover added that he and his crew have tried hauling brush by using the town’s dump truck, but found that it’s “costly” to send one of his employees from Dixfield to Mexico to drop it off.
“The guy in the dump truck is on the road all day, bringing brush back and forth, and he can’t do anything while doing it,” Glover explained. “It’s just a big expense to haul it. You’re looking at saving a lot more money by purchasing a $1,500 chipper that you own, rather than renting it every month.”
Daley asked Glover, “What’s the condition of the truck?”
“I went down last week to look at it, and there were no big issues,” Glover said. “There’s a wheel-bearing cap that is seeping, and that would have to be taken off and resealed. Other than that, there’s nothing. The lights and wiring are working, and we tested it out by running some brush through it.”
Selectman Dana Whittemore asked Glover if Peru and Canton owned wood chippers or rented them.
“It seems like we could maybe reach out to them and ask if they wanted to rent from us,” Whittemore said. “It’s just a thought.”
Glover said it was a good idea, but that he would be concerned about the upkeep and maintenance of the chipper while it was in their hands.
“When you have a truck like that, it’s important to keep it greased every day and make sure that it’s in good working condition,” Glover said. “I would want to make sure that they were taking care of it every single day that they had it.”
Daley pointed out to the rest of the selectmen that “we discussed this a while back: pursuing surplus equipment if the price was right and if it was in good condition.”
Glover agreed, adding, “As long as you take care of your equipment and treat it right, you can get good life out of it.”
Whittemore asked Town Manager Carlo Puiia where the money was going to be taken from.
Puiia replied that the money would be withdrawn from the Public Works Rental Operations account.
Daley asked Puiia if it was okay to purchase the truck using that account, even though they weren’t renting the truck.
“The board has the discretion to use the money for that particular purchase,” Puiia said.
Whittemore asked Glover if there were any pieces of equipment that the Public Works Department needed to rent in the next year.
Glover said that there was nothing in the foreseeable future.
The board subsequently voted to purchase the $1,500 chipper.
In other business, police Chief Jeff Howe told the Board of Selectmen that his department was “closing in on filling the vacant position in the department” left after Howe replaced retired Police Chief Richard Pickett at the beginning of the year.
“We gave an offer, and the gentleman has accepted it,” Howe said. “It all goes smoothly, he should be able to start right on the first of August.”
Howe said that the candidate has “a lot of law enforcement experience in several different areas,” and that he’ll be “a benefit to this town.”
Selectman Eugene Skitbitsky asked if the candidate would live in Dixfield.
Howe said that he would likely live in the immediate area.
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