FARMINGTON — Selectmen Tuesday night, April 25, authorized Public Works vehicle purchases, contracted with Pike Inc. to perform paving and learned of a new state program available for future projects.

An expenditure of $278,375 was approved to purchase a 2023 International plow truck from HP Fairfield. The money will be taken from the equipment reserve account.

It is a lot of money, Public Works Director Phil Hutchins said. “It is the only truck available on any lot [in Maine],” he noted.

There is a lot of interest in the from other towns that use a July 1 to June 30 year, Hutchins stated. Farmington works on a calendar year, he said. The wait time for trucks is a year and a half now, he added.

There would be $176,625 left in the reserve account, Hutchins replied when asked about the balance.

When Selectman Chair Matthew Smith asked if trucks would have to be ordered early – similar to fire truck purchases – because of the long wait times until they are available, Hutchins said yes.

The town needs to make sure it doesn’t get caught without having enough vehicles, Smith stated.

Selectmen approved expenditures of up to $120,000 from the reserve account to purchase two used pickup trucks and trading in the department’s 2012 Ford 550.

Hutchins said he is looking for two slightly used trucks similar to the one he uses now. The 2012 one-ton truck has some electrical and mechanical issues, he noted.

Selectmen also approved contracting with Pike Industries for paving this year.

The town is on Pike’s list, paving is expected to start in early May, Hutchins said prior to the vote. The contract process had been used previously with Bruce A. Manzer, Inc., there were some bid process issues with other companies doing incomplete work, he noted.

Farmington will be paying about $10 less per ton than what other towns are paying, Hutchins stated.

At town meeting last year $510,000 was approved for capital road improvement, even though Hutchins had indicated in an earlier Select Board meeting that work might not be completed in 2022. Obtaining funding approval last year allowed pre-purchasing of materials and planning ahead for this year’s paving, he had said then.

Two state programs available for municipal reconstruction projects were then discussed. Municipal Partnership Initiative [MPI] has been available in the past, Village Partnership Initiative [VPI] has been out about a year, Hutchins stated.

While different programs, the two use a similar process, Hutchins noted. MPI projects can be surface treatments, reconstruction, drainage or intersection improvements and are funded 50% by the municipality and 50% by the state with a maximum of $625,000 provided by the state, he said.

VPI focuses on investing and revitalizing village centers or the downtown that enhances safety for pedestrians and others, is a three step process, Hutchins stated. VPI is funded 50% by the municipality but there is no state cap, funding depends on the complexity of the project, he noted. During step one a MDOT engineer works with the town on project ideas, step two is project design and step three is construction, he added.

Kingfield used VPI on its recent project, Hutchins noted.

MPI and VPI may be incorporated in the same project, Hutchins stated. Only state aid highways qualify for these programs, such as Wilton Road, Town Farm Road in West Farmington, Main Street from Hippach Field through the downtown, Fairbanks Road, Farmington Falls Road and High Street, he added.

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