Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Templeton Gets Excavator

Templeton Gets Excavator
Voters to decide on new school, police station expansion

‘The town gained a little bit more with this particular machine.’ — Bud Chase, highway superintendent

Rebecca Leonard
News Correspondent

TEMPLETON  The Templeton Highway Department welcomed a new machine to the team Monday night as a new excavator was dropped off.

“We were able to negotiate a better price based on their quote. It actually matched the John Deere price,” said Highway Superintendent Bud Chase at the Board of Selectmen meeting Monday. He informed the board that the new machine was in the process of getting dropped off as he spoke.

The new excavator, a Volvo, was purchased by the Highway Department for $193,000 to replace the old one, which was 26 years old and had spent a lot of time being repaired.

In terms of paying for the machine, interim Town Administrator Bob Markel explained that the “off budget bank account will be used, as well as $50,000 from the Planning Board that they have available — giving them $170,000.”

 Mr. Chase stated that he was able to sit with the manager and negotiate other items at no extra cost for the machine as well.

“This machine actually supersedes my specs and what I was looking for,” expressed Mr. Chase.

Additions to the machine included a hydraulic “thumb” for the bucket and an increase in trade-in value of the old machine to $21,500, which was originally $14,500.

In recent weeks, Mr. Chase had been reviewing vendors and equipment. In his search he found two vendors for a new excavator — John Deere and Volvo.

The price for the John Deere was $193,000 and the Volvo excavator was originally $194,000. Mr. Chase told the board that John Deere didn’t have the machine on the lot when he went to demo it.

“They had one up in Northern Maine that they could ship down here, but I told them there was a possibility I wouldn’t take it,” said Mr. Chase.

“The town gained a little bit more with this particular machine,” he stated.

Selectmen along with interim school Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hemman, also set a date of Nov. 9 for the fall special town meeting.

Votes on Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion tax overrides for both a new elementary school and an addition to the police station may be on the warrant. Debt exclusions increase taxes for a particular reason, with taxes returning to what they otherwise would have been once the project is paid off.

There was talk of a Dec. 8 election, for a second, needed vote on the debt exclusions, but there hasn’t been an official date set yet.

1 comment:

  1. Looks like Templeton leadership can't learn from the past. Let's bundle two projects together and see if they pass. We'll stack the town meeting on November 9th, that's not a problem. But wait! Weren't they holding the ballot vote first? So what gives?

    Raise your hand if you think these articles will pass at the special town meeting. Keep your hand up if you think these projects will be defeated at the ballot box.

    Didn't Hubbardston just use this very same process? Hubbardston Votes NO and NO

    First Hubbardston tired to get the vote for the public safety complex and senior center passed separately. It failed at the ballot box. The Hubbardston tried to get the same projects passed separately. Passed at town meeting and failed at the ballot box.

    In order for Templeton's project to generate support at the ballot box, a detailed accounting of the money spent on the project is necessary.

    In order for Templeton's project(s) to generate support at the ballot box, a detailed explanation of doubling the size of the Police Station while the school project consumes all of the parking area for the Police station is in order. Will this project need more land?

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