Newcastle’s purchase of a 1995 Case 580L backhoe for $20,000 will bring substantial annual savings to the Twin Villages, Newcastle Town Administrator David Bolling said.
The Board of Selectmen approved the purchase during their Sept. 10 meeting
The machine, bought from the town of Boothbay, will quickly pay for itself as Damariscotta and Newcastle will not have to lease similar equipment, Bolling said.
The backhoe will also allow the Damariscotta-Newcastle public works staff to immediately respond to jobs that require a backhoe instead of waiting to lease the equipment.
The staff will use the backhoe for clean-up of debris, culvert repairs and ditching, Bolling said. The machine can also interface with attachments for snow removal, street-sweeping and other tasks, options the town might consider in the future.
“You can do a lot of work with it,” Bolling said.
Newcastle plans to retrieve the backhoe Oct. 1.
Bolling described the purchase as a good investment in a good machine. The backhoe has 5767 hours.
The town initially budgeted $15,000 for the purchase. The additional $5000 will come from a budget item for a study of a town property on Mills Road.
The town applied for and received a grant for the study.
