Livermore Falls Police Chief Abe Haroon discusses cruiser bids Tuesday night at the Board of Selectmen meeting at the Town Office as Town Manager Carrie Castonguay listens. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser
LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen voted 3-2 Tuesday night to accept the bid for a 2025 Ford Interceptor hybrid from Quirk Auto Group in Augusta because it was the lowest and has the police vehicle in stock.
Police Chief Abe Haroon obtained bids of $50,500 from Kinley Auto Group in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, $48,267 from Bailey Brothers in Livermore Falls, and $47,222 from Quirk Auto Group. The offers were for just the SUV, he said.
Selectmen Bruce Peary, Jim Long and John Barbioni voted to approve the lowest bid. William Kenniston and Jeffrey Bryant were opposed.
“I asked eight different taxpayers and they said ‘go with the lowest price,’ so I am for Quirk,” Long said.
Initially Peary supported approving the Bailey Brothers bid because it is local.
“The amount of time that you would have to be at an out-of-town place to do it, the fact that the repairs could be done basically right across the street I think saves time and energy,” Peary said.
“To get service done, you have got to go to Augusta, which is going to tie up somebody’s time, where with Bailey Brothers service is right here in town,” Bryant said.
Haroon said warranty work could probably be done at the Ford dealership in Farmington rather than Augusta.
Kenniston supported using Bailey Brothers and didn’t think the price difference was enough to go outside town.
Bailey Brothers estimated it would have the SUV in January or February 2025 but couldn’t commit to a delivery date, Haroon said.
“I’m not going to experience any undue hardship by waiting for the car right now,” Haroon said. “If I don’t get that car until March, then yeah, then I am starting to get in that realm.”
After confirming Bailey Brothers wasn’t able to give a delivery date, Peary said he would support approving the lowest bid.
“Those people I proposed the situation to are concerned about taxes and costs, pure and simple,” Long said.
“My first feeling was to go with local business, but without a guarantee of when it will be available and it is needed, and the fact that Quirk has it in stock, then, like I say, I will now support the Quirk (bid),” Peary added.
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