Council Approves Purchase of Forklift

The Town Council unanimously approved the purchase of a new forklift for the Highway Department at their meeting Monday night.

The Highway Department will purchase a 2011 Clark Forklift Model CQ30 at the cost of $24,761 from Starlift Equipment in West Haven.

"This is an out of budget expenditure," said Deputy Mayor Philip J. Sylvestro. "We would be very reluctant to do something like that. Except this is a piece of equipment that the Highway Department and the town must have."

Highway Superintendent Glenn Parent said the forklift is "vital" to the needs of the Highway Department and used to pick up and move pellets, plows and sanitation containers. It also helps break down the leaf machines.

"We don't have a piece to replace it. It is used in such a wide variety of ways. It is really hard to lose that kind of piece."

Parent said getting parts for the forklift are becoming more difficult to find and it often costs more to ship a part then the part itself.

The town will put a down payment of $3,000 on the forklift with the money being charged to the town Highway Department budget line. Four payments of $6,078.52 will be made in future budgets. After the payments are finished, the town will own the forklift.

"It is an important piece of equipment for his (Parent’s) operation," Sylvestro said.

The current town forklift was built in 1974 and just lost its second transmission, Sylvestro said. A new transmission would cost $9,000, Sylvestro added.

Councilor Nadine Bell asked if the forklift was over 30 years old and "essential" to the town, "why was it not budgeted for." 

"I guess the best answer, we finally came up with was we were going to try and stretch it another year. Like we are trying to stretch a lot of things," Sylvestro said.

Bell and Councilor Catherine Vargas said the purchase of the forklift is why the town needs a department review.

Town Manager Barbara R. Gilbert said she felt purchasing a new forklift could wait another year.

"I was the one that felt we could not purchase any equipment of this magnitude this year. Because my charge was to keep the tax increase as minimal as possible."

Gilbert said one town employee is currently on long-term workers' compensation because he hurt himself lifting items at the town garage.

"I have to do what I can to prevent that from becoming reoccurring."