Council approves city’s plow truck purchase

     PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — In a vote of 6-1, City Council approved the purchase of a 2015 Freightliner from Freightliner of Maine, Inc., of Houlton.
Councilors had tabled discussion of the purchase after questions arose during the June 2 meeting, following Public Works Director Dana Fowler’s recommendation to accept the Freightliner bid.
At that time, Councilor Bruce Sargent suggested city officials view the trucks involved in the bid process — an International from Daigle Houghton of Fort Kent and the Freightliner from Houlton — firsthand, rather than agree to the deal, sight unseen. One issue that led to this decision was the fact Presque Isle has never had a Freightliner in its Public Works Department fleet but has, however, owned Internationals.
Al Maynard, branch/sales manager for Freightliner, and Rickie Michaud, of Daigle Houghton, brought their respective vehicles to Presque Isle, parking behind City Hall where city officials had the opportunity to inspect both machines, inside and out. The group then gathered in Council Chambers to make a decision.
“I feel in the future when buying equipment (a brand) the city has never owned, that department should check out trucks and what they’re bidding on. It’s like a blind bid out there. The mechanics and operators have never seen the truck (Freightliner). We should have asked Freightliner to provide a list of places that run these trucks,” said Sargent, noting pros and cons to each truck.
Councilor Craig Green expressed his concerns.
“I only have one concern — goes to the longevity of using a product. We already have, in house, mechanical items and spare parts to fit an International,” said Green.
Green said although Freightliner’s bid was lower, the cost to stock spare parts for two different vehicles could eat up any savings.
“Though the bid may be cheaper today to buy (the Freightliner), I’m not sure (the savings) will be identical when we have to stock two separate parts,” he said.
Councilor Randy Smith urged councilors to uphold the city’s policy on the bid process.
“My feeling is we put out a spec bid for trucks, presented to vendors. They in due diligence bid on these machines and returned bids. We need some form of accountability to go with the low bid. It’s all about going with the least amount of money,” said Smith.
Councilor Pete Hallowell agreed with Smith.
“I don’t think we want to get away from competitive bidding … I think we have to stay with the integrity of low-bid prices. Both are good machinery,” said Hallowell. “If we’re going to bid out, we should go low bid because it’s the people’s money.”
Council Chair Emily Smith agreed with Smith and Hallowell, noting “We have to honor the bid process. If we don’t, we won’t have people bidding.”
With that, councilors cast their votes, with Green making the only vote in opposition. Councilors approved the purchase of the 2015 Freightliner SD 114 with plow, dump body and spreader for $149,353 and extended warranties as follows: engine $2,050; exhaust after-treatment assembly $500; transmission $500; and towing $800.
Council’s next regularly-scheduled monthly meeting will be Monday, July 7, at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate. For more information, call 760-2785.