DIXFIELD – The hydraulic lift used for servicing the SAD 21 buses and the town’s heavy equipment must be replaced.
That was the message public works Director Tim Hanson told selectmen at Monday’s board meeting.
He said the lift failed to pass inspection earlier in the month
“The cables have become frayed and unsafe,” he said, adding that the company that manufactured the apparatus when Dixfield bought it 12 years ago has gone out of business.
He said the cost of replacing the 30-foot-long, 32,000-pound capacity piece of equipment is estimated at about $18,000, a cost that would be equally shared by SAD 21.
The lift services all municipal vehicles and 17 school buses.
Selectman Eugene Skibitsky asked whether replacement could wait until the June town meeting.
Hanson said he didn’t believe that would be the best course of action to take. He said the town’s share of buying a new lift, at $9,000, could come from the town’s surplus.
He said the old lift could be sold as a condemned lift for its steel, but not as a used lift.
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