LIVERMORE – Town officials have agreed to add $13,500 to the Israelson Road construction project to cover the cost of gravel that meets Maine Department of Transportation specifications.

The select board had to reconsider the project because of increased gravel costs, board administrative assistant Kurt Schaub said Wednesday.

Lovewell Logging and Excavation of Livermore was awarded the project contract for its low bid of $82,000 in September. The job calls for the reconstruction of 1,835 feet of the road, which is off Turkey Lane. Paving was later eliminated from the project to lower costs so the bid came to about $55,750, which included $6,000 worth of gravel from the company’s gravel pit, Schaub said.

It was later determined that a different quality of gravel was needed, Schaub said, and it would cost $19,500.

Lovewell representatives factored in the $6,000 it had in its bid for gravel and selectmen agreed to pick up the difference between gravel prices, which was $13,500, Schaub said.

In addition, $1,500 was added previously to the cost of the project to install a drain after a spring was discovered when the road was dug up. The drain is expected to redirect the water.

So the project cost now stands at $70,750, Schaub said. Work on Israelson Road is on hold until North Turkey Lane road work is completed.

In other matters Monday, Schaub said the town has saved significant interest on a loan for a firetruck bought in 2002. Voters approved financing $147,677 over 10 years to help buy the truck. The board had opted to go with Androscoggin Bank’s bid of 3.74 percent interest for the first five years and after that either pay the loan off in one payment or refinance it for another five years, Schaub said.

The lowest bid for a straight 10-year financing at the time was 4.49 percent, he said.

Schaub said he talked with Androscoggin Bank recently since the first five years is up and representatives offered a 4.08 percent interest rate for the final five years.

By extending the loan with Androscoggin, the town saves money on legal fees and more than $6,000 in interest, Schaub said.

“This is money savings,” he said. “This is taking a commonly used practice of writing commercial loans and applying them to municipal borrowing. It’s paid off for the town.”

The board also voted to raise the hourly wage of Rick Tompkins from $8.50 an hour to $12. Tompkins had been receiving a wage that normally would have been given to a part-time transfer station worker. But considering the maintenance projects Tompkins has been doing, including painting trim at the town office and replacing Sheetrock at the highway garage, the hourly wage was raised, Schaub said.

Tompkins is considered a temporary maintenance employee, while the full-time employee is on self-requested unpaid leave of absence until late November.

The board set holiday hours for the town office as being open through noon on Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, and closed Christmas, Tuesday, Dec. 25, and Wednesday, Dec. 26.