| Joanne Cole |
The quest to purchase a new ambulance took a sharp turn Monday when the Select Board decided to scrap the current bids and try again. Interim Town Manager Bradley Plante, in only his second week and new to the months-long ambulance discussion, will review and revise the ambulance RFP with Interim Fire Rescue Chief Craig Bouchard. They will return with an updated bid package and, assuming board approval, out it will go to bidders.
The change of plan also means there will be no Special Town Meeting in September.
The reversal follows a flurry of activity over the weekend and on Monday about how to proceed with the board’s preferred bidder. At their August 22 meeting, the board had decided on a $352,658 Type 1 4WD ambulance from Sugarloaf Ambulance of Wilton. On a 3-2 split vote, they also decided against committing on the spot the additional $103,000 needed for the purchase; instead voters would settle the funding question at a town meeting.
Aware that Sugarloaf’s bid would expire and prices might well rise before a town meeting could be held and funding secured, board members wondered whether Sugarloaf would hold its bid price for 30 days.
Over the weekend, Interim Manager Plante asked Interim Fire Rescue Chief Craig Bouchard to find out. As it turned out, Sugarloaf Ambulance wanted price protections of its own. It wanted an additional $13,500 as a contingency to cover cost increases it might incur between signing the purchase order and receiving the VIN number for NG’s specific chassis. Any unused contingency monies would be returned to the town.
The added $13,500 kicked the ambulance’s new total price up to $366,158, and $116,158 became the number for voters’ approval on a revised draft special town meeting warrant.
Taking in this news at the August 29 meeting, board members expressed concern, not only about the increased cost, but whether the contingency asterisk gave Sugarloaf Ambulance an unfair advantage over the other unsuccessful bidders. Plante had checked with Maine Municipal Legal, who said the proposed approach “would not be illegal.” Elaborating, Plante told the board that the MMA attorney “wasn’t comfortable” with the idea, however, and neither was he. In the end, neither was the board.
The prospect of a re-bid also reignited contention over the type and configuration of ambulance Select Board members want, availability, Fire Rescue members’ preferences, which options and components are in or out under the bid documents, and more.
But they will try again.
The hoped-for new ambulance is intended to take the place of the town’s current ambulance, A1, a 2014 Ford 450 Type 3 model. A1 is in fair condition with some 106,000 miles under its belt; it responded to more than 1,000 emergency calls in 2020 and 2021 and to another 289 so far this year. A1 will need to last until whenever its replacement rolls in. Some $22,000 earmarked for repairs to A1 was set aside with the decision to replace it.
With the change of plan, the timeline for the re-bid and eventual hoped-for replacement is unclear, but Manager Plante has put the ambulance at the top of his to-do list. And board members agreed to convene early to move the process along. Their next scheduled meeting isn’t until September 19.
Priorities for Interim Town Manager Plante. In other action, the board discussed priorities and a schedule for Interim Manager Bradley Plante. Former Manager Christine Landes had prepared a lengthy list of pending items, Plante told the board, adding that if he works only two days per week—the minimum set by the board—“I’m not going to get as much done.”
The board settled on up to three days per week for now, with weekly activity updates from Manager Plante and more hours as needed. Four days per week has been budgeted, Chair Peter Bragdon noted.
Seeing the town with fresh eyes, Plante had ideas about priorities. He told the board he had “deep concerns” about safety at the Transfer Station. He visited on a Thursday, he said, “and it felt like I was in downtown New York City. There were cars going everywhere.” As manager in Poland, Plante changed their transfer station’s routing following a fatality in Cape Elizabeth that involved a resident and car backing up.
Safety at the Transfer Station failed to make the board’s short list. Along with the ambulance, top items were the water penetration and humidity problems in the Library basement, hiring an Animal Control Officer (required by law), the salary survey used to inform compensation at budget season, the town’s FY2021 and 2022 audits, the status of the Pineland Y closure and building, Pond Road access and paving, and safer access to the Fire Station from Route 100.
In light of his two-month contract, Plante suggested that tackling longer-term initiatives–he mentioned recycling–was impractical. The board agreed.
Board sends proposed Charter to November 8 ballot. As expected, the board voted to place the proposed municipal charter on the November 8 ballot, a required formal step in the charter process. Board members Peter Bragdon and Stephen Hathorne served on the Commission, which met 29 times and is now winding down its work after more than a year.
The Commission’s Final Report, including the proposed Charter voters will consider, and explanatory material, summaries and an overview of the Commission’s process, can be accessed at this link. To learn more, check the Charter Commission’s webpage, at this link.
To watch video of the Select Board’s August 29, 2022 meeting, click here. For links to Select Board meeting agendas and related documents, click here.
