MADAWASKA, Maine — Selectmen made three motions to replace and fix town equipment during a Monday night meeting.
The board authorized the purchase of a new forklift, gave the public works director permission to lock in a deal for a new street sweeper and used equipment reserve funds to fix a municipal payloader.
Mark Madore, head of the town’s pollution control department, said that while the town’s 1979 forklift needs a great deal of attention, public works director Kevin Dube felt that some parts on the machine were still salvageable.
“I did not investigate the possibility of repairing this one,” Madore said. “I mean, it is a ‘79.”
He said other departments, like the town recreation department, have occasionally borrowed the forklift. The pollution control department carries heavy chemicals with the forklift, and as a result Madore said there are safety concerns for employees. He said time is lost when employees have to nurse the decades-old machine to ensure it works properly.
The low bid was $30,976 for a new Hyundai forklift from Bangor-based Maine Material Handling. The Hyundai is in Georgia but Madore said it could be in Madawaska in two to four weeks.
Town Manager Gary Picard said the purchase could be funded using the town’s reserve monies, but revenues are off by about $250,000 from the previous year, which is depleting the fund balance. Officials at the meeting said the reserve account now contains about $453,000.
The board ultimately voted to purchase the $30,976 Hyundai Hyundai forklift using reserve funds.
The board also authorized Dube to lock in a deal for a new street sweeper for no more than $320,000. Once committed, the board would reconvene to discuss financing options, which includes leasing the machine and splitting payments between the public works and pollution control budgets.
Dube said he is talking with a dealer and that there is a long line of municipalities looking for street sweepers. If he doesn’t lock in a new sweeper when it becomes available, the town may be stuck waiting more than a year for a new machine.
The board also approved a public works request to use roughly $11,500 out of the equipment reserve account to rebuild the center pins and bushings on the town payloader. About $4,000 would pay for parts with the remainder going toward labor costs.
“We have quite a fleet of equipment, and every year we tackle something,” Picard said. “You cannot drop the ball on replacement equipment, even for just four or five years, because it backs you up.”
