FARMINGTON – The Board of Selectmen agreed this week to purchase gasoline for town vehicles jointly with the county.

The board approved using $5,310 from the Public Works reserve account to cover the cost of relocating its user-identification system at $925 and to clean, remove and dispose of a 4,000-gallon, above-ground tank on the former town garage site at a cost of $4,385.

The tank would have to be relocated regardless of the future use of the lot, Town Manager Richard Davis told the board.

He presented three options for the board to consider including moving the tank and pump system to the public works facility at a cost of $19,949.

A second option would be to buy gasoline at retail stations from the town’s present supplier, C.N. Brown Co. The company agreed to discount 4 cents per gallon of gasoline purchased at the pump. That option would require the town to file for state tax reimbursement. C.N. Brown’s price would save the town a half-cent per gallon, Davis said.

He had discussed the third option with Franklin County Sheriff Dennis Pike and the county commissioners who agreed to the joint purchasing proposal.

Police Department and Public Works vehicles require the most gasoline, leading Selectman Nancy Porter to ask why the cost was not being split between those departments rather than being taken from the Public Works account.

The Public Works reserve account has $37,000 with no major projects planned, Davis said. The Police Department has no money budgeted for the project.

Porter suggested the Police Department could budget it for next year and repay the Public Works account, but Davis said he expects some lean years ahead for the town and it would be better to use reserve funds when they can.

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