DIXFIELD — Public Works Foreman Randy Glover told the Board of Selectmen on Monday evening that he was looking to lease/purchase an excavator in the near future.
Glover told the board that his department has a 15-year-old backhoe that is used for some road projects.
“The backhoe is nice for some of the work we’re doing, but we have some road projects coming up that will need a lot more than a backhoe,” Glover said. “I tried looking at how much it would cost to rent an excavator, but I found it would be more expensive to rent one for the summer than it would be to own one for the year.”
Town Manager Carlo Puiia told the board that the program to lease-purchase an excavator is similar to the program the town used in April 2015 to lease a $122,000 loader for three to five years, with an option to buy it at the end of the lease.
Selectman Hart Daley asked Glover what an excavator’s lifetime expectancy would be.
Glover said, “Well over 20 years. With good maintenance, hopefully, I’d never have to replace it before I retire.”
Resident Peter Holman asked how many times the department uses an excavator in a year.
“Well, it all depends on how much road work we have at the time,” Glover said.
Daley said he wanted to see how much the town paid in excavator rental fees in the past three years.
“I don’t think it’s fair for him to try and pull a number off the top of his head tonight,” Daley said. “I’d be more comfortable seeing the numbers before moving forward.”
Resident Dan McKay said he knows “road building is a big task.”
“I think the Public Works crew should come up with some kind of a five-year plan for the kind of work you would want to do with the excavator,” McKay said. “That way, we’re not having it sitting around and not being used for a year.”
Puiia told McKay he had a chart in his office detailing Glover’s ideas for road projects in the next three to five years.
The board agreed to review the program that Glover was proposing and see what prices were available for excavators.
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