LIVERMORE — Selectpersons voted at their meeting Monday night to take the Case backhoe that has been used at the transfer station out of service and replace the arms on the JCB backhoe.

Highway Foreman Roger Ferland said that an ultrasonic inspection of the front-loader arms of the JCB backhoe completed by Archie Ray of Roadsafe LLC in Canton showed that the arms have rusted from the inside out. The arms should have been sealed but are more than 33 percent rusted.

“How this got in is beyond me,” Ferland said.

Ferland indicated that the arms could be replaced for about $7,400. It will take about a week for the repairs to be completed. Rather than lease a backhoe from a commercial company should the stormy weather predicted for this weekend occur, he was given permission to see if the town could rent the equipment locally.

“We have no other choice,” Selectperson Rod Newman said. “We need to get it back in service.”

Ferland also stressed that the Case backhoe needs a lot of work. The brakes are not reliable and the rear bushings need to be replaced, among other things.

The selectpersons voted to take it out of service and have Ferland’s crew do any needed crushing at the transfer station until the JCB is fixed and can be taken there. After some discussion, Ferland was asked to research costs for a new plow truck and equipment.

In other business, selectpersons voted to execute the Community Center lease as written. Board of Selectpersons Chairman Mark Chretien and Tim Cox of the Livermore Community Center Association signed the lease for the Brettuns Community Building located on Church Street. The lease is for 99 years with a $1 lease fee.

Several members of the Livermore Community Center Association were on hand and Cox suggested that a selectpersons’ meeting be held there to see the improvements that have been made. Rental rates for other facilities in the area were mentioned. Cox said he was trying to keep the rates low at the Community Center and have more people use the site rather than raise the fee and have fewer events there. 


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