JAY – Selectmen voted unanimously Monday night to let highway foreman John Johnson spend up to $93,000 from the department’s capital account to buy a new municipal tractor and a used roadside mower.

Selectmen met at the town garage Monday prior to the selectmen’s meeting to review highway department needs.

“We are in need of a piece of equipment to do sweeping, mowing sides of the road, cleaning sidewalks,” Chairman Steve McCourt said during the regular meeting. “The piece of equipment we have is 10 years old and is in parts at the garage.”

The cost to repair the 1989 Holder tractor is expensive and parts are not being made anymore, Johnson said. To buy a sickle bar alone to cut grass along the side of the road is $13,500.

The town could buy a Trackless tractor for $85,000 to $86,000, including trade-in, and a used mower attachment for about $3,000, Johnson said.

They already have attachments that would fit the new tractor, including a sidewalk plow, blower, broom and street sweeper.

The department’s capital account has $400,000 in it, Johnson said.

“It sounds like a lot, but a dump truck cost $150,000,” Johnson said.

Other model tractors could do the job but go a lot slower, which raised concern from police Chief Larry White Sr. in terms of sidewalks not being plowed in a timely fashion.

“I’m just fearful someone’s going to be walking in the road,” White said, after a storm if the sidewalks not plowed.

Selectmen asked Johnson what he would like to see.

“My perfect world would be to buy a new tractor” and a used roadside mower, Johnson said.

Johnson was authorized to negotiate the best deal and look into getting the most for the old tractor, either by trading it or selling it in parts. Johnson said the town would have to put $1,200 into the tractor to get it ready for trade.

Selectmen also unanimously approved the Road Committee’s recommendation for a road improvement program for 2008.

The group had $450,000 to work, committee member and former Selectman Rick Simoneau said.

Work will cost roughly $430,000 and includes top coats for Davis Road, Jewell Street and Claybrook Road and reclaiming and base coat to Keep Road during this fiscal year.

The plan also earmarks any carryover toward a top coat on Keep Road in 2009.

Other repairs in 2009 include reconstruction of portions of Skyline, Belmont and Summit roads.

The committee plans to meet with Keep Road residents who have concerns about the elevation of road, Simoneau said.