Oakham Select Board Votes to Buy Two Highway Trucks, Cancels Prior Vendor Deal

OAKHAM — June 8, 2026 — Oakham Select Board authorizes purchase of two highway dump trucks, drops prior vendor. The board voted unanimously Monday to direct Highway Superintendent Mike Granger to pursue two new Freightliner dump trucks from Trucks of North America through the Sourcewell government cooperative contract at a combined cost of approximately $511,000, pending MassDOT District 3 Chapter 90 approval. The action effectively cancels a prior order from Ballard MAC, after the vendor confirmed in writing it would not seek collection. The two identical L9 Cummins-powered trucks with stainless steel all-season bodies come in at $255,500 each — roughly $124,000 less per unit than the MAC truck — with an extended two-year warranty adding $10,113 per truck. Funding will draw on roughly $546,000 in current unallocated and MAC-designated Chapter 90 funds, supplemented by a certified fiscal 2027 apportionment of $329,222.01. The board also approved year-end line-item transfers totaling roughly $5,044 for legal and veterans accounts, and received a Board of Health request for an administrative search warrant for a property at 358 Colbrook Road tied to a possible illegal landfill complaint first filed in November 2025, deferring action pending a formal Board of Health vote.