Boothbay Harbor selectmen unanimously approved the emergency purchase of a 2015 Bobcat Toolcat 5600 G-Series at the Feb. 23 selectman’s meeting.

Town Manager Tom Woodin had received a request from the public works department for the Bobcat to aid in snow removal from sidewalks and to widen the roads that have been slowly shrinking due to snowdrifts piled high on either side.

The Bobcat can throw snow into a truck to be moved. Since the town trucks are currently filled with salt and sand, trucks will be subcontracted from Eric Wood or Reny's Construction to move the snow, according to Woodin.

Woodin said he got quotes from three companies, Jordan Equipment in Falmouth for $69,591.74, Bobcat of New Hampshire for $73,186, and Bobcat of The Champlain Valley in Vermont for $73,458. The selectmen unanimously voted to accept the bid from Jordan Equipment, which had one on-hand that came complete with a snow blower and truck-loading chute.

The town will use the undesignated fund to cover the cost of the bobcat. The selectmen agreed that at the next town budget meeting, held Wednesday, Feb. 25, they will develop and effect a plan to recover the funds used within the next three years.

“I personally mean (the recovery) should not be at the taxpayers expense,” Vice Chairman Bill Hamblen said.

Hamblen said the money saved on labor due to the machine’s use should help stretch the public works budget further.

Objections were raised by Boothbay Harbor resident Bruce Engert, who felt the need for the equipment wasn't an emergency anymore, and that the town taxpayers should be allowed to voice their opinions in a public hearing. He also felt renting a piece of equipment would be more financially responsible.

“I will agree our two-way streets are by and large one-way streets, but again, we're hopefully on the other side of the snow,” Engert said.

“We actually did a cost-benefit analysis against (renting the equipment) and purchasing this machine, and this machine was far cheaper and will be available many years in the future. The problem with renting a front-end snow blower, when you need it, so does everybody else and they tend not to be available,” Hamblen said.

Engert also objected, saying the town hadn't needed the machine in the last 10 years.

“The cost-benefit analysis showed that it would have actually saved us money had we had it in past years,” Hamblen said.

“As I understand it, the machine can be used in the summer with other attachments as well,” Chairman Denise Griffin said.

This style of Bobcat has over 40 front-mounted attachments that can be purchased for different projects.

The motion passed unanimously and the selectmen gave Woodin the go-ahead to create a purchase order for the machine.