CONWAY — After more than an hour and a half of discussion, the Capital Improvements Committee unanimously voted to recommend four purchases for the Highway Department at June’s Annual Town Meeting.
Voters will be asked to consider buying a four-door plow truck, a compact loader, a used boom lift and a wood chipper, as well as a chipper box.
In an extended discussion with the Selectboard and Finance Committee Tuesday evening, the Capital Improvements Committee and Highway Superintendent Ron Sweet explained the need for the four items, especially the truck and compact loader.
“The compact loader and the pickup are the frontline stuff I’ve always needed,” Sweet said. “The other stuff, the reason we’re asking for it is because they are things now being asked of the Highway Department.”
The plow truck and compact loader are listed on the draft Town Meeting warrant at $80,000 and $70,000, respectively, although those prices may decrease depending on what purchasing route the Highway Department takes. Sweet said the compact loader could be as cheap as $50,000 because he is planning on trading in the current one. These purchases would come out of the Capital Stabilization Fund, which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
The 65-foot boom lift, which would be bought used, is listed for $40,000, and the 18-inch wood chipper and winch is listed for $92,000, with an additional $7,000 for a chipper box. These costs will come from the Highway Maintenance Building Account, which includes money leftover from the garage building project.
Sweet currently rents these two pieces of equipment when needed — including through what Finance Committee member John Craine called a “sweetheart” deal for the wood chipper — and he said owning the equipment would save the town money over the tools’ lifetimes and will quicken responses to weather events.
“You can’t predict when a tree is going to fall. Weather changes everything; weather is our business,” Sweet said. “It’s a huge chunk of our money we’re giving to somebody else. I don’t agree with the theory that renting is the way to go.”
The wood chipper purchase came before residents at December’s Special Town Meeting, where voters shot it down because they said it was “too high of a cost for something not needed as often,” Selectboard member Chris Waldo said at the time.
Sweet is seeking to purchase a wood chipper because the town realized its responsibilities were larger than originally thought due to the Shade Tree Law, which requires all trees in a public way, including those on private property, to be maintained by the town. Sweet rents the current chipper for $1,800 a week, a deal that Craine noted will most likely not last the lifetime of a new piece of equipment.
Finance Committee and Capital Improvements Committee member Roy Cohen said the numbers of these projects will “knock you over when you look at them,” but if you look at the constant maintenance and repair costs of an “old clunker” then they make much more sense.
The Capital Improvements Committee unanimously recommended the four projects for approval at the June 3 Annual Town Meeting. The Selectboard and Finance Committee will make their recommendations at a later date.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.