HOULTON, Maine — Houlton’s 23-year-old wheeled loader is getting sent to the sand pile and replaced by a new $320,000 piece of equipment.
On Monday night, the Houlton Town Council approved the purchase of a 2024 John Deere 624 P medium-sized wheeled loader for use with a bucket, snowblower and other attachments for clearing snow, loading gravel and road construction.
The existing loader is running with about 15,000 hours on it, said Public Works Director Chris Stewart during the meeting.
“It’s done its job for sure,” Stewart said. “We got our money out of it for sure.”
Public works put out requests to four companies for bids and two were returned, with $320,000 from United Construction & Forestry, Houlton, and $269,000 from Frank Martin Sons, Fort Kent.
According to Stewart, the $51,000 difference between the two was related to the size, weight and horsepower of the units presented in the bid. United Construction & Forestry was the only bid that met public works bid specifications for a John Deere 624 P or equivalent. Frank Martin Sons’ $269,000 bid on a much smaller ZW180-7 unit, Stewart said.
Because of the differences in specs, Stewart asked the council to accept the $320,000 bid.
Town Councilor Eileen McLaughlin asked for clarification on why the large discrepancy and why the town was accepting the higher bid.
“The price is astronomical,” she said. “I was thinking you can buy a house for that.”
Stewart explained he chose the higher bid because the lower bid was for a smaller loader with less fuel capacity and less horsepower.
“There were deviations from the spec,” he said. “Frank Martin could have put out a bid for a larger unit, they have loaders larger than the 180, but this was not to spec.”
Mc Laughlin then asked about the longevity of the loader and if there was anything wrong with the old one.
Stewart said they run the loaders hard, year-round. In the summers they are in the gravel pit or sweeping streets and in the winter, snow plowing and loading trucks. With that, they expect to get 20 years from the new loader, he said.
The 2001 unit is still running, but it’s getting tired and as it ages repairs would be costly, he said.
During recent 2024 budget sessions, the town council approved $75,000 annually for the lease or purchase of a new wheeled loader.
With financing at 4.94 percent from Katahdin Trust Company, the town will pay $71,436.98 per year, in four annual payments.
The last time the town purchased such an expensive piece of equipment was in 2009 when they bought a Komatsu loader, Stewart said.
