GILL — The Selectboard this week granted permission to the highway superintendent to apply for a grant for one equipment purchase and agreed to use Chapter 90 funding for a second purchase.
The board’s three members unanimously gave their blessing to John Miner to replace a 1983 Kubota tractor using $60,817 in Chapter 90 funds. Additionally, by applying for a $246,000 Massachusetts Department of Transportation Unpaved Roads Grant, the town hopes to replace a 2010 Komatsu loader with a new Caterpillar 930 loader.
“Our tractor is for roadside mowing, leaf blowing, debris blowing, posthole digging, grading roads,” Miner said in an interview after leaving Monday’s meeting. “And the loader’s just our all-around No. 1 piece of equipment.”
According to Miner’s request, the 1983 Kubota has 6,255 operational hours on it. The tractor has become increasingly unreliable due to the scarcity of replacement parts and mounting repair challenges. The proposed replacement is a new Kubota M7060 utility tractor, a 70-horsepower model that is expected to seamlessly integrate with current attachments, support essential maintenance activities throughout the year, and help ensure reliability and operational excellence in municipal highway services. The new machine could last 25 years. The need for a replacement has been recognized for two years and is supported by the Capital Improvements Planning Committee.
The Highway Department has $654,618 available in Chapter 90 funds as of Dec. 22. Miner mentioned that equipment purchases are an atypical use of Chapter 90 money, but the “extensive town projects” scheduled over the next two years — namely, the Gill Elementary School and Riverside Municipal Building roof projects — make this allocation necessary and practical. He also said he is thrilled to have the Selectboard’s approval.
According to Miner’s request, the acquisition will proceed through the Sourcewell Contract, a pre-negotiated purchasing agreement for government entities, in collaboration with Bacon’s Equipment Inc., a Kubota dealer in Williamsburg.
The Highway Department reportedly faces expanding workloads and broader maintenance requirements, and Miner’s request to the Selectboard made the case that reliable equipment is critical to ensuring the safety of the operators as well as Gill’s roads and communal spaces. Using Chapter 90 funds now can help address immediate operational needs without jeopardizing future budgets or the quality of town services.