MINOT — Selectmen on Tuesday awarded Peter Hemond of Minot the contract to provide winter sand for $5 per cubic yard, delivered to the town garage.

Hemond’s bid was the lowest of two received. Riverside Aggregate of South Paris bid $5.99 per yard.

Hemond’s price is the same the town paid last year, Town Administrator Arlan Saunders said.

Hemond has been asked to deliver 3,500 cubic yards to start the winter.

The price for road salt will be down slightly, Saunders said.

“The bid AVCOG put out came in $1.50 per ton less than last year. Every little bit helps,” he said.

The town has contracted with the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments to purchase 800 tons, the same as last year, at a cost of $61.53 per ton.

Saunders also reported that telephone problems plaguing the municipal buildings since mid-August have been cured by the installation of a new telephone system.

“They determined we were hit by lightning. Came in on the telephone lines and fried the computer console that operates the system,” Saunders said.

Telephones had to be replaced in the town office, the town garage and the Fire Department’s Central Fire Station. The cost to date, covered by insurance, is $6,900. The final cost will be more, as the wireless system connecting the town office and the town garage is still not working. A new router has been ordered.

Updating selectmen on the town’s dispute with developer Chuck Starbird, Saunders noted that the Maine Supreme Court has given both parties until pretty near the end of December to file relevant information with the court.

The case stems from the refusal, in June 2010, of the town’s code enforcement officer to issue Starbird a building permit for his property that lies on an unaccepted portion of York Road.

The outcome of the case, the town’s attorney Norm Rattey has estimated, won’t be known until the late winter or early spring.