PARIS – Repairs to Phillips Road will be delayed for at least a week due to inaction at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting.

Selectmen Gerald Kilgore and William Merrill were not present, leaving only three selectmen to vote on the night’s agenda. Since three votes are needed for a majority on the five-person board, Monday’s items required unanimous approval to pass.

While most of the items were approved, a decision on awarding a contract to repair Phillips Road, which was damaged in the Patriot’s Day storm April 16, failed to garner the support of all the selectmen present.

Three construction companies bid for the repair. Pratt & Sons of Minot bid $49,800. Kennagh Excavation of Paris, which already did $12,216 of emergency work on the road during the storm, said it could replace the culvert under the road for $25,982. It was outbid by Everett Excavation of Norway, which said it could do the work for $24,725.

Town Manager Sharon Jackson recommended that the job go to the low bidder.

Selectman Ernest Fitts was reluctant to award the contract to Everett, saying Kennagh had already done work on the road and, for the slightly more expensive price, should continue to do so.

“I don’t like pulling guys off a job unless they’ve done something wrong,” Fitts said.

Jackson said Kennagh was hired for a different project, namely repairing a washout during the storm that exposed water and sewer pipes.

Selectman Raymond Glover said it would not be fair to the low bidder to hire Kennagh just because it had done prior work for the town.

At the vote, Glover and Chairwoman Barbara Payne voted in favor of awarding the contract to Everett, while Fitts voted against.

Fitts tried to put a vote forward to award the contract to Kennagh, and also suggested calling the absent selectmen for their votes on the issue. Neither effort was successful, and the vote was tabled until the selectmen’s meeting next Monday.

“Let’s just hope there’s no big rains before the next meeting,” Payne said.

According to a memo filed by Jackson, the town will pay for the culverts, which are estimated to cost $5,000. The total cost of the job is expected to be in the $43,000 range.

Selectmen voted to purchase a 2006 Crown Victoria police cruiser for the Paris Police Department from Ripley and Fletcher if the decision is approved at town meeting. Jackson said the 2006 model is $2,600 less than the 2008 model.

Police Chief David Verrier said the proposed vehicle has been sitting on the lot and has no miles on it. If purchased, it would replace Verrier’s 1999 Crown Victoria, which Jackson proposed could be donated to the town for use by the assessor and code enforcement officer.

In other business, selectmen appointed Paul Thornfeldt and Payne to terms on the Norway-Paris Cable TV Committee. They also renewed the liquor license for Mayflower Chinese Restaurant.

Selectmen will meet at 7 p.m. May 14 at the Paris Town Office.