A review of the Oxford Request for Tender, Proposal Policy confirms the correct process

OXFORD — In early October, when Oxford officials approved bids for a new ambulance from Autotronics of Bangor and a new fire engine from Lakes Region Fire Apparatus of Ossippi, New Hampshire, at least one dealer whose bid was not accepted was so dissatisfied that he filed a complaint. complaint in the mass media.

Richard Peck, sales manager for New England Fire Equipment, North Haven, Conn., emailed the Advertiser Democrat on Oct. 13 to allege that Oxford improperly awarded the Lakes Region fire truck bid and that he believes the process was rigged .

“The winning bet was over 10 minutes late,” Peck wrote. “It should never have been accepted. . . . The company awarded the fire apparatus $40,000 more than the low bid,” presented Peck’s salesman.

Speaking about the time New England Fire put into its bid, Peck said in an email that he wanted the bid process to be fair.

Peck’s sales representative. hand-delivered their proposal to the Oxford city office on Sept. 3 by 11 a.m., the deadline listed in the request for bids published by the city. New England Fire’s bid for the pumper truck was $452,882.

Another offer from Autotronics for a fire truck was mailed to the city administration; Autotronics’ bid was $496,819.

Lakes Region’s bid was $492,050 and was marked as delivered to city administration on Sept. 3 at 11:15 a.m.

When asked last week for a response to a New England fire equipment complaint, Oxford Fire Chief Ashley Wax-Armstrong explained that a representative from the Lakes Region Fire Department had contacted her earlier on Sept. 3 to say he was delayed due to an urgent matter, but was on road and will arrive with his offer as soon as possible.

Oxford City Manager Adam Garland also stated that under Section 8 of Oxford’s bid policy, “the City reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any formalities or technicalities in the submission, and to accept any bid that it may consider the selectors to be in the best interest of the town. The city also reserves the right to negotiate with any bidder.”

“The reason New England’s bid was $40,000 less than the others is because it didn’t meet the two most important specifications we put in the RFP,” Wax-Armstrong said. “First, it had rear suction.

“Another reason was the body style. They only offered aluminum; we asked for steel because of its corrosion resistance so the truck has a longer life. Those two options New England couldn’t provide.”

During a discussion of the applications during the Oct. 3 Board of Selectmen meeting, Supervisor Scott Hunter noted that one of the applications was received 15 minutes after the deadline.

Garland recommended the board cancel the late application.

Then elected Sharon Jackson said that all applications should be accepted for consideration.

“I agree with the Board and Sharon Jackson that the application was submitted 15 minutes late and they still have the authority to accept it based on the wording in the application packet,” Garland told the Advertiser Democrat.

“Even if the Lakes Region’s application was rejected, New England would still not meet our requirements,” Wax-Armstrong said. “Manager Garland and I were honest about it (the decision) and our selectmen allowed the purchase.”

Both new cars will be delivered next fall. The fire pump will replace the old Oxford FD Engine 5. The ambulance will replace the one that crashed on Route 26 earlier this year.