The Bedford Town Council voted to buy two 6-wheel cabin-chassis trucks and to contract separately for dump bodies, plows and sanders, approving two awards the council said are needed for winter and summer maintenance operations.
Public Works Director Jeff Foote told the council the town received one bid for the chassis portion from Allegiance Trucks of Manchester, N.H., at $137,000 per truck ($274,000 total), and later negotiated with HP Fairfield to outfit both trucks with bodies, plows, wings and sanders at a higher price than last year. "We received 1 bid from Allegiance Trucks of Manchester, New Hampshire at $137,000 per truck or $274,000 total for the bid," Foote said.
Why it matters: the vehicles are used for winter maintenance and other public-works tasks; procurement and vendor outreach affect price, schedule and serviceability for operations that the town relies on each season.
Foote told councilors the town publicly advertised the chassis solicitation in April and opened bids in May, but the body/plow/sander bid drew no responsive offers at opening; he said the town then negotiated with the prior year’s low bidder. "I was directed by the town manager to engage with HP Fairfield, who is the successful low bidder in 2024... they would increase their [price] 5% over 2024," Foote said, adding that the combined cost of chassis plus outfitting remained roughly $58,000 below the town's earlier 2024 estimate when all pieces are combined.
Councilors pressed the public-works director on vendor outreach and the reasons for receiving a single chassis bid and no bids for the outfitting work. Councilor Soule asked whether the town had pursued pricing from other companies; Foote said the town posts solicitations on the New Hampshire municipal bidding site and the town website and that staff notify prior vendors. Foote also told councilors there was an internal communication issue that limited outreach on the outfitting bid: "we had an employee that told the mechanic not to solicit not to notify the other bidders. That's why we received no bids," he said.
Councilor Carter asked about the age of the trade-in trucks; Foote said one is a 2014 model and the other a 2016 model, and explained the trade-in/retirement timing depends on condition and repair spending.
Formal actions: a motion to award contract O3-2025 to Allegiance Trucks LLC of Manchester, N.H., for $137,000 per truck ($274,000 total) and to authorize the town manager to execute the contract using the funding source in the report was moved and approved by the council. The council later approved awarding contract 4-2025 to HP Fairfield of Hopkinton, N.H., in the amount of $124,850 each ($249,700 total) to outfit the two trucks, using CIP fund account 28051.
Council discussion focused on whether the town should formalize stronger vendor solicitation practices to avoid single-bid outcomes and whether the negotiated 5% price increase represented fair market value given inflation and tariffs; Foote said the pricing was reasonable and the town obtained a product with an established service relationship.
What’s next: Councilors suggested clarifying and possibly formalizing outreach procedures for solicitations, and staff said they will continue to advertise on the municipal websites and follow up with potential bidders for future procurements.