JAY — The new snowmobile and tow-behind groomer to be used for trails on the town’s recreation land behind the high school came in well under the $18,000 selectmen approved for the project in December.

The groomer and related equipment came to $5,947.84 and the 2013 Ski-Doo Scandic WT Ace cost $9,000, town Finance Director Lisa Bryant said Monday.

The money for machine and equipment came out of the tower lot reserve line. A communications company leases a lot on the town’s recreation land and that money is put into the reserve and only to be used for recreation purposes.

As of June 30, 2012, the audited amount in the reserve was $137,644, Bryant said. That does not factor in any expenses since then.

Selectmen agreed to let the town’s Recreation Committee spend up to the $18,000 to buy a Ski-Doo Scandic snow machine and tow-behind grooming equipment, including a track setter. The idea is to create trails for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling by using an existing trail system, as well as creating new trails on skidder roads, which have now opened up many miles of new terrain, committee member Randy Easter previously said.

The property has been managed as a selected cut parcel in the past few years.

Chairman Steve McCourt updated fellow selectmen on the project on Jan. 28. He said the equipment and machine were bought for about $14,000. The committee is considering constructing a building to house it in next year, he had said. The machine and equipment cannot be kept on private property due to the town’s liability coverage, he said.

The snowmobile and equipment are owned by the town and were added to the town’s policy and registered to the town.

Only trained people will be allowed to use the snowmobile to groom trails, Easter previously said. No one under 18 would use it.

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