Gilford DPW opts to rent generator to save $38K in expenditures

The Gilford Department of Public Works will be renting a generator to power its, and it will also serve as a backup in case of a power outage at the town’s sewer pump station.

The choice to rent rather than buy is a move that will save the town about $38,000, and even though it is a temporary purchase, Director Meghan Theriault felt this was the most economical choice.

Director Meghan Theriault met with the selectboard on Wednesday night, where she gave an update on the progress of the new building, as well as to let them know the plan for a rental that would cost just under $12,000. This is split between two purchases, with the rental costs about half this amount, and an automatic transfer switch installation being the other portion.

Purchasing a brand new generator would have been $50,000, and this was the original intention, but after some research she felt that it was not the best bang for the back.

“The potential $50,000 for a long-term solution didn’t seem like a good idea for us,” Theriault said on Thursday. “When we looked into it further, it didn’t make sense.”

She told the board that the generator is needed to power the trailer being used by the department during the new building construction. When looking at the generators, they felt they should buy one that is on a trailer to be used in other places. However, after investigating further, she said the size of the generator is small and not meant for other major uses.

“Say we needed it at the solid waste center,” she said. “In no way would it accommodate helping out over there. So, we feel like the money would be better spent. That’s not a good use of the money right now, and instead we would rather do a rental.”

The rental will be from December to April, and it will also require the installation of an automatic transfer switch on the electrical panel. While they understand that this is a temporary expense, the long-term expenditure did not seem appealing.

Chair Kevin Hayes asked if this rental unit is portable, and she said it will not be. It will only be for the trailer and the sewer pump station, which she said is critical.

“We had talked about situations if we lose our power, do we come over here and plant ourselves with computers in this room,” Theriault said. “Turn the faucets on so we don’t freeze the water. But it is the sewer pump station that is run off that panel. That is also servicing this building.”

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The DPW panel also serves the construction area, and they said that the generator of this size cannot run their site, as well. Theriault said Lyman Construction understands that they would rent one if there was a multiple day outage.

“This is only sized for us and the pump station,” she said.

The rental generator is only to serve as a backup for anything but the trailer, in the case where power is lost in the winter months at the town municipal complex. She said they lost power quite often in the old DPW building, and the generator would kick on, but the old one was in such rough shape that it would often not work.

“We have experienced not having any power, and that was a much bigger deal when running a garage at this location,” she said.

Theriault told the selectboard that Bonnette, Page and Stone (BPS), the town’s construction manager, sent her an email saying that Daniels Electric Corporation of Gilford will be able to install the automatic transfer for just under $6,000. The actual rental will also be for about $6,000, and BPS is putting this out to bid.

“It sounds like it is going to be about $12,000 between the two,” she said.

Hayes asked that Theriault keep the board in the loop about the rental, and added that hopefully there will be no interruptions in power service in the meantime.

“We certainly need to be prepared if we do, and I just think that’s our cheapest option,” Theriault said.

Town policy requires expenditures of $10,000 or higher to be pre-approved by the selectboard, according to Town Administrator Scott Dunn. A vote did not need to be taken because the estimated cost for the rental will not hit that mark.