By Donna M. Perry,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Commissioners voted unanimously to accept low bids totaling $49,987 with trade-ins for two pickup trucks and a van for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Tuesday.

The bids from Quirk Ford in Augusta were accepted provided they met the specifications solicited by Deputy Chief Ray Meldrum, which they did, Meldrum said Tuesday.

The county received four bid packages from dealers.

Commissioners agreed to go with the Augusta dealership for two 2006 extended cab four-wheel drive trucks at a bid of $20,493 for one with a trade-in of a Jeep and $19,493 for another with the trade-in of a Crown Victoria sedan.

The bid for the seven-passenger Freestar, two-wheel drive van was for $10,001.84 including a trade-in of the existing transport van.

The sheriff’s department allocated $60,000 for the vehicles, Meldrum said.

It is expected to cost $1,000 for each vehicle to have them outfitted for the road with radios, lights and cameras.

The trucks will be used as cruisers and the van will be used to transport inmates.

In other business, commissioners voted to hire Aaron Gordon of Chesterville as a full-time dispatcher. He is a firefighter, emergency medical technician and has worked for the department as a reserve dispatcher since August 2004.

Commissioners accepted TD Bank North’s bid of 3.85 percent on a tax anticipation note for $600,000 on an as needed basis. The bank agreed to pay for bond council.

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