WOODSTOCK — At a special town meeting Tuesday, voters gave selectmen the go ahead to purchase a 2005 pickup truck to be used by the highway department in situations when a larger truck is not needed. The decision was made in an effort to save on fuel costs.

According to Town Manager Vern Maxfield the cost of the truck totals $5,000 which is well within the price range the board had aimed for.

“We had planned to spend between $5,000 and $8,000 for a truck so we are pleased that we were able to find one at the bottom of our planned price range,” said Maxfield.

Maxfield said the money will come from the town’s highway equipment account so no new funds need to be raised.

Prior to the town meeting, the selectmen awarded the winter sand/salt storage contract to E.C. Hadley Excavating of South Woodstock for their low bid of $5.45 per cubic yard. Hadley’s will screen, mix with salt, haul and store the mix in the town shed in Bryant Pond. The order calls for 2,500 cubic yards totaling $17,625, which is well within the town’s 2009 budget, approved in March.

Other bidders included R.A Tibbetts of Wilton which bid $6.60 per cubic yard, Poland Construction of West Paris bidding $6.75 and River Brook of Woodstock which bid $6.89.

In other business Maxfield reported road damage from recent storms on the Redding Road will cost a bare minimum of $50,000 to repair, but he expects the town will receive help with needed funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. How much help will be awarded will be determined next week.

In the meantime the road was made passable last Saturday and will be brought back up to town standards as soon as possible.

Finally the board appointed Kevin Marshall as an alternate to the planning board bringing the board up to full strength.

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