FARMINGTON — Selectmen on Tuesday approved continued negotiations on a used vehicle while exploring options on a new vehicle to replace the Public Works truck that burned in February.

Public Works Director Denis Castonguay proposed the purchase of a used 2005 vehicle that is ready to be set up for plowing. He asked the board to use $70,250 from the Public Works equipment reserve account, an amount that along with the $16,500 in insurance would purchase and prepare the vehicle for plowing next winter.

The seven-year-old vehicle was owned by a small town that didn’t work it hard and had few maintenance costs with it, he said.

He thought the asking price was too high, but he wanted to submit a bid and he thought the reserve funds would cover the need providing the town with 10 years of use, probably more.

Selectman Andrew Hufnagel questioned whether it was better to buy a used vehicle and get 10 years for the $70,000 or spend $95,000 for a new vehicle and get 20 years of use.

At this time of year, he didn’t see the need to rush into it, but Castonguay said the used truck wouldn’t last. A lot of people are bidding on it. He didn’t expect it to be available when the board meets again two weeks from now.

His concerns about purchasing a new truck, he said, include the fact that plow trucks are “spec” built according to what a town needs. The other concern was the new exhaust emission systems that keeps changing each year with new technology that could potentially raise costs.

He didn’t want the town to be caught as a guinea pig in the system experiments.

Hufnagel wanted to see more research on 2010-11 vehicles.

The board voted unanimously to give Castonguay the authority to negotiate on the used vehicle. A positive response would come back before the board, probably during a special meeting. In the meantime, he will continue his search for a new truck.

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