MECHANIC FALLS – The Town Council has postponed purchasing a truck for the Water Department and a tag-along trailer that public works crews would use to transport heavy equipment and vehicles from job site to job site.

The Water Department was scheduled to replace one of its two trucks, and superintendent Steve French had gathered bids on a regular two-wheel-drive truck and a four-wheel-drive truck with a plow.

French wanted the council’s opinion on going with the plow truck to give him the ability to clear the Water Department yard, near the pumping station, and to assist public works’ clearing around hydrants.

The cost was in the $23,000 range.

“Why not put this purchase off for a year,” was the reaction of council Chairman Dan Blanchard, who noted that given the economic climate, perhaps it would be a good idea to re-examine scheduled replacements and try to stretch existing resources.

The rest of the council agreed that this might not be the time for business as usual.

“Maybe we should think as the common man does; we need to slow down,” Bob Small said.

The decision to purchase a truck will be reconsidered when the board meets in November as Water Department trustees.

Councilors also decided to see if the town would be better off trying to borrow or rent rather than purchase the tag-along trailer at Maine Trailer’s low bid of $11,943.

The council directed Town Manager John Hawley to report to it on how often the trailer would be used and whether the town could share with a neighboring town.

Hawley noted the trailer’s expected lifespan is 25 years.

The council did agree to purchase a new police cruiser, a 2009 Dodge Charger, from Bessey Motors at a bid price of $23,392 with $4,000 knocked off by the trade of the old Ford Crown Victoria, which had turned into a real “maintenance hog.”

The Charger won favor for its superior gas mileage, 20 mpg verses 11 mpg for the Ford Crown Victoria under consideration, although council members also wondered if in the future the town should go with an all pickup truck fleet as that would appear to be more economical based on the Police Department’s experience with the kind of vehicle it last purchased, a pickup truck.

Hawley reported the bid for the 600 tons of road salt came in $5,658 higher than the town budgeted.

“May be a tough winter as far as keeping roads clear,” Hawley commented.

Hawley said Minot has offered a truck and driver to help haul winter sand next week as reimbursement for the assistance Mechanic Falls gave Minot with the washouts around West Minot in August.

The outlook for fuel oil is better than might have been expected since, Hawley pointed out, he was able to lock in with Bryant Energy at $2.999 per gallon. The budget, prepared last spring, had figured on $2.90 per gallon.

The schools locked in at $3.45 per gallon through another bid arrangement.