HOULTON, Maine — The public works director appeared before the Town Council on Sept. 10 to request funding to buy two dump trucks that he said are desperately needed.
Public Works Director Chris Stewart appealed to the council for at least $120,000 so that he can purchase the equipment for the Public Works Department.
“I need a couple of dump trucks sooner rather than later,” Stewart told the councilors. “There is too much wrong with the trucks I have now.”
There are two 1995 Ford dump trucks that Stewart said have frames that are rusted so badly they will no longer pass inspection.
“I asked our mechanic to send me a list of everything wrong with the trucks,” he said. “After the third or fourth page, I told him to stop.”
Stewart said that nothing will hook to the frames because they are cracked and split all the way up to the cab.
“If your frame is bad, nothing will hook to it,” he said. ”We can’t realistically fix them because they are 23 years old.”
Stewart said he was able to use them some this past summer to haul rocks and gravel, but he said that they would not last through the winter.
“We purchased these trucks used in 2007 and 2008 from the Maine surplus,” he said. “We got 11 years out of them, which is typical.”
Stewart requested the funding for the two trucks so that he could begin looking for used vehicles. He said he started discussing the matter back in April with former Town Manager Bill MacDonald and his request was put into the town’s capital plan.
“I think if he could find two trucks for $120,000, that would be a bargain,” said Council Chairman William McCluskey. “I think we need to get him some money.”
No action was taken during the meeting.
