OXFORD — Selectmen agreed Thursday night to table plans and the bid to repave Fore Street and Station Road this year, electing instead to hold a workshop to look at other roads in worse shape.

Selectman Sharon Jackson pointed out that sections of Whittemore Road, East Oxford Road and Number 6 Road were in worse shape than what remains to be done at Fore and Station roads.

Board Chairman Scott Hunter agreed but was reluctant to delay work on Station Road since it sees a lot of heavy truck traffic.

Town Manager Adam Garland said he would invite Highway Department Foreman Jim Bennett and the engineer who has consulted on road improvement plans to attend. The workshop was tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. June 17.

Town of Oxford department heads presented their capital expenditure requests to the board as follows:

• Highway Department, Foreman Jim Bennett: a hydraulic hose machine, $4,532, three bids requested; half-ton and three-quarter ton pickup, $50,000, three bids for each requested. The machine is used for all town equipment, the pickup would replace a 2004 Ford F-150 half-ton with 240,000 miles that was taken out of service.

Advertisement

• Public Safety, Fire Chief Paul Hewey: security upgrades to Public Safety Building, $11,451, three bids requested; five air tanks, $4,375, approved; a refurbished Lifepak monitor, $10,045, approved; four Toughbook laptops, $2,2645, approved buying two this year. Cameras will be added to the front and back of the building and improve the security system.

The refurbished monitor will be installed in the third ambulance, replacing one that is not supported or serviced by the manufacturer. A new one costs $33,000. The Fire Department maintains 40 air tanks that expire after 15 years. Purchasing five at a time staggers the life cycles. The laptops will replace iPads that have unreliable battery life and internet connection.

• Transfer Station, Manager Ed Knightly: Exterior painting, $12,355, itemized bids requested; a leased or purchased loader, $45,000 or $101,000, three purchase bids requested and research requested on used equipment; heat pump, $3,669, approved; rebuild baler, $14,400, approved; concrete block barrier system, $3,380, approved.

The trash and recycling buildings’ walls need patching and painting and $5,000 is budgeted. A heat pump will replace a failed propane system and provide heat and cooling. The loader is about 20 years old and in constant need of repairs. Volvo offered $30,000 in trade, while John Deere offered $20,000 in trade. The baler is 27 years old, and a new unit will cost $119,000. Concrete block barriers will replace rotted wooden guardrails for less money.

• Waste Water Facility, Superintendent Zhenya Shevchenko: power sewer washer for pipes, $30,000, three bids requested; a fund for membrane (system filter), $25,000, approved. The system membrane is good for 15 to 20 years and is expected to cost around $500,000 when it’s needed. There is $149,000 already in a fund. The power washer will be shared with the Highway Department to flush culverts.

• Town Office, Clerk Elizabeth Olsen: a Trio module for online business transactions, $3,025, approved. The module will allow residents to conduct business and make payments online, have funds processed in real time and provide more timely communications on the status of the payment.

Advertisement

Garland reminded everyone that the annual Town Meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Oxford Elementary School. Town elections will be held Tuesday at the Public Safety Building from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Garland also produced a series of videos to inform voters about the Town Meeting. The videos break down each warrant article with a brief explanation and include budget information. Videos can be viewed at the town’s website.

In other business, selectmen voted to approve a three-year contract with Patriot Energy to supply electricity to town buildings at the rate of $0.0077293 per kilowatt-hour.

They also rejected bids for cleaning up property at 9 Whittemore Road. The code enforcement officer inspected the site after the last selectmen’s meeting and reported the property is in compliance after the owner made a significant effort to clean it up.

The board accepted a donation from Alyssa Thurston to sponsor one of the Recreation Department’s ball teams. It renewed the liquor license for Oxford Casino, Hotel and Event Center.

After reviewing a BYOB permit for an Aug. 31 event at Whitney Farms Wedding Venue, selectmen authorized the town manager and town clerk to handle approvals for such requests as needed because they do for catering permits.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: