Officials report sewer bids under estimates; advisory to keep article amounts unchanged

Town staff told the joint Select Board–Finance Committee that bids for a sewer and drain project opened earlier the day of the meeting produced lower-than-expected estimates and recommended leaving the printed article amount unchanged.

Tim reported that Cayden Barker opened seven bids, three of which fell between $42,000 and $65,000; the highest bid was $190,000. He advised keeping the article’s dollar amount as printed because the town will take the lowest qualified bid and returning any unused funds to the originating account keeps recordkeeping and future reconciliation cleaner.

“Three of them were between 42 and 65,000. The high bid was 190,” Tim said, reporting the bidding results. He recommended leaving the article as printed so voters reviewing booklets later do not face reconciliation questions if the final contract price differs from the printed figure.

Members also corrected a warrant wording error on the purchase described in Article 13: the warrant had listed a plow truck in error; the intended purchase is an excavator. Dennis and others flagged the discrepancy and thanked the member who caught the typo.

Other anticipated discussion items include Article 14 (zero-turn mower) and Article 15 (fees), both of which members expect could draw questions from the floor and produce split votes; presenters were assigned to explain the rationale and answer audience questions.

No formal vote on the sewer article was recorded at the preparatory meeting; the Select Board and Finance Committee confirmed that procurement will proceed with the lowest qualified bidder after town meeting approval as required by local purchasing rules.