Brentwood Select Board weighs used John Deere purchase after warranty offer

The Brentwood Select Board heard an update on acquiring a front-end loader, with staff and public works personnel outlining multiple options and the board pausing to seek additional quotes before taking a purchase vote.

The discussion began after staff explained the town had solicited multiple quotes to either lease or buy a loader and had placed a placeholder warrant on the warrant articles because of timing with the warrant process. Public works staff member Wayne reported that John Deere was offering a used loader with about 271 hours listed at $168,000 (reduced from a $280,000 list price) and that the dealer would provide a $20,000 trade-in allowance and apply about 80% of rental payments toward the purchase if the town first rented the machine. Wayne said the dealer also offered up to a five-year warranty on that machine, which was a primary reason he preferred it over other used machines without warranty coverage.

Board members and a resident who inspected an alternative machine — identified in the meeting as Frank Hartman’s Komatsu — discussed differences between older, simpler machines and newer models with diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems. Resident Jim, who had inspected the Komatsu, noted that the Komatsu’s $111,000 price included two attachments (heavy-duty forks and a street sweeper), which could add operational value for road and recreation department work. He also said the Komatsu had been sitting and would not start at first because of a battery problem that was later fixed.

Select Board members asked staff to continue collecting quotes, including from local dealers such as Chapel Tractor, and to return to the board if another dealer’s offer was preferable before town meeting so the board could amend the warrant as needed. No formal motion to buy was made; staff described the plan as “back to the drawing board” if dealer quotes are unsatisfactory and said they would keep the warrant placeholder and potentially amend it based on the best quote obtained before the meeting.

The board specifically separated discussion from decision: staff and Wayne presented options and recommendations; the board requested further evaluation and quotes; no purchase authorization or appropriation was adopted during the meeting.

Ending: The board asked staff to re-inspect the Komatsu now that a battery issue reportedly was fixed and to gather any additional John Deere quotes. The Select Board left the warrant placeholder in place and said it would amend the warrant before town meeting only if a satisfactory deal is secured.