OXFORD — In early October when Oxford selectmen approved bids to purchase a new ambulance from Autotronics of Bangor and a new fire pumper truck from Lakes Region Fire Apparatus of Ossipee, NH, at least one dealer whose bid was not accepted was displeased enough to lodge a complaint with the media.

Richard Peck, a sales manager with New England Fire Equipment North Haven, CT, emailed the Advertiser Democrat Oct. 13 to assert that Oxford inappropriately awarded the fire pumper truck bid to Lakes Region and that he felt the process had been rigged.

The winning “bid was over 10 minutes late,” Peck wrote. “It should have never been accepted … The company awarded the fire apparatus was $40,000 more than the low bid” presented by Peck’s salesman.

After going into some detail about the time New England Fire had invested in their proposal, Peck stated in his email he wanted the bid process to be fair.

Peck’s sales rep. hand-delivered their bid to Oxford’s town office on Sept. 3 before 11 a.m., which was the deadline listed on the request for bid posted by the town. New England Fire’s pumper truck bid was $452,882.

Another bid from Autotronics for the fire truck had been mailed to the town office; Autotronics’ bid was $496,819.

Lakes Region’s bid was $492,050 and it was marked as delivered to Town Office on Sept. 3 at 11:15 a.m.

When asked last week for a response to New England Fire Equipment’s complaint, Oxford Fire Chief Ashley Wax-Armstrong explained that the representative from Lakes Region Fire Apparatus had contacted her earlier on Sept. 3 to relay he had been delayed by an urgent matter but was enroute and would arrive with his bid as soon as was safely possible.

Oxford Town Manager Adam Garland also stated that under section 8 of Oxford’s bid policy, “the town reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any formality or technicality in the submission, and to accept any bid as may be deemed by the selectmen to be in the best interest of the town. The town also reserves the right to negotiate with any bidder.”

“The reason New England’s bid was $40,000 less than the others is because it did not meet two of the most important specifications we put in the RFP,” Wax-Armstrong said. “The first, was for it to include a rear suction.

“The other reason was the body style. They only offered aluminum; we had requested steel for its durability against corrosion, so the truck has a longer lifetime. Those two options, New England was not able to provide.”

During discussion of the bids during the Select Board’s Oct. 3 meeting, Selectman Scott Hunter had pointed out that one of the bids had been received 15 minutes after the deadline.

Garland recommended the board throw the late bid out.

Selectperson Sharon Jackson then stated that all bids should be accepted for consideration.

“I agree with the Board and Sharon Jackson that the bid was 15 minutes late and they have the authority to still accept it, based on the language in the bid package,” Garland told the Advertiser Democrat.

“Even if Lakes Region’s bid had been thrown out, New England still did not meet our specifications,” Wax-Armstrong said. “Manager Garland and I have been honest about this [decision] and our selectmen authorized the purchase.”

Both of the new vehicles will be delivered by next fall. The fire pumper truck will replace Oxford FD’s old Engine 5. The ambulance will replace the one totaled in a Route 26 crash earlier this year.