Council accepts equipment bid
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — New snow removal equipment for the Northern Maine Regional Airport topped the agenda for the extra session of City Council, held Jan. 20.
With a vote of 7-0, councilors authorized Dana Fowler, interim city manager, to enter into a rent-to-own agreement with Lionel Theriault, Inc., of Presque Isle, for a rubber-tracked tractor and plow for just over $311,651, with 95 percent of the funding provided by the FAA Airport Improvement Program. The remaining 5 percent will be split evenly between the city of Presque Isle and the state of Maine. The city’s share, approximately $8,000, will come from the FAA Capital Reserve account.
In other financial matters, Council reallocated funds for the Presque Isle Fire Department, the Public Works Department and the Industrial Council.
The fire department request was unanimously approved, following a bit of discussion on the department’s proposal to reallocate funds from the PIFD Engine Six reserve account for the purpose of purchasing either a new or 2009 holdover four-wheel-drive half-ton pickup for the department.
Councilor G. Melvin Hovey questioned the necessity for a new truck, given the PIFD already had two pick-up trucks in service. Fire Chief Darrell White explained that one unit was in need of major repairs and it was determined it would be more cost-effective to purchase a newer model than to sink funds into repairing the older truck. White also noted that one truck is designated as a brush fire truck in warmer months, eliminating it for general use during that part of the year. And when one unit is covering at the airport, that only leaves the other pickup for the department to use. White explained that such a truck would be used for shuttling firefighters and equipment to fire scenes and other purposes.
Council authorized reallocation of PIFD funds, to be the exact amount needed to fund the purchase, as long as it does not exceed $20,000.
Council voted unanimously to transfer $39,686 from the 2009 Public Works asphalt account to the street overlay account, to be used for paving projects in 2010.
In a vote of 7-0, Council approved the transfer of $30,000 from the 2009 surplus account to the Industrial Council Capital Reserve account.
In other news, Council made the following appointments:
• George Howe as alternate building inspector, alternate housing inspector, alternate electrical inspector, alternate plumbing inspector and alternate handicap project coordinator;
• Kari Wells-Puckett to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a three-year term, ending Dec. 31, 2012; and
• Marcella Walton as an alternate to the Zoning Board of Appeals, for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2010.
Council will hold its next regular meeting on March 1 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate. For more information, contact 764-2507.
