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Farmington highway staff report aging excavator, seek repairs and plan for pit reclamation
Summary
Highway supervisors described electrical and undercarriage problems on a 2006 excavator, outlined repair and maintenance-logging practices, and urged the board to commission a professional assessment of the town pit to protect long-term land value and material supply.
FARMINGTON, N.H. — At the May 11 meeting of the Town of Farmington Board of Selectmen, highway supervisors detailed equipment and operational issues that could affect the department’s service delivery this season.
"The undercarriage is getting thin...there's a broken wire in that harness somewhere," Highway Department staffer Chad Osborne said of a 2006 excavator the crew uses for roadwork and ditching. Staff described a faulty quick coupler harness, several track-bolt replacements underway, and an intermittent ECM/ECU/throttle control problem that previously left the machine immobile on a job site.
The board and staff discussed practical repairs (running a new wire and securing harnesses), checking grounds and relays, and engaging dealer-level support if the fault reproduces under load. "If it acts up again, call me — we'll get it off the road and figure it out," Chairman Charlie King said, urging a balance of in-house troubleshooting and vendor escalation when necessary.
Maintenance tracking and costs: Highway staff summarized pre-trip reports, paper work orders and newer repair-tracking software the department uses (paid subscription in place since about 2019). Staff reported the system can produce truck-by-truck histories; one 2013 10-wheeler has roughly $71,000 in documented repairs over several years. The selectmen asked for accessible historical reports and agreed to review fleet-cost trends.
Materials pit and long-term planning: Staff and the board discussed active crushing of pit material and the need for a reclamation plan that preserves the parcel’s value for potential future sale or redevelopment. "We want to get the most usable material out without ruining the property’s value," King said, asking staff to solicit a professional assessment of extractable materials, reclamation options and an estimated end date for pit operations.
Other operational notes included consolidation of waste oil drums into an indoor tank and a request to clear scrap containers and surplus vehicles from the yard this summer. Staff also described repeated damage to portable crosswalk signs downtown and ongoing coordination with the state DOT and a pending sidewalk/grant project to install more permanent flashing crosswalk equipment.
Next steps: Highway staff will pursue wiring and coupler repairs, continue documenting maintenance in the software, scan and share repair histories with the board, and schedule a pit site visit for selectmen and staff to inform a professional assessment and long-term plan.
