Nashua Finance Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025: Approval of Multiple Purchases and Expenditures
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Nashua Finance Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025
The Finance Committee met on October 15, 2025, at 7:26 PM (adjournment time) to consider a series of purchasing approvals and a record of expenditures. All items were approved unanimously. The meeting was chaired by the Mayor (Mayor Donchus) and attended by Aldermen Thibodeau, Govea, Moran, Timmins, Clemens, Klee, and the Mayor. No public comments were made.
Purchasing Approvals
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Boiler Replacement for Fire Station 4: Approved purchase of a replacement boiler from Palmer and Sickerd for $42,000, funded from Bond 54 Property Services. Fire Chief Steve Buxton explained the existing boiler's heat exchanger failed and was not economically repairable. The new boiler matches the existing one to avoid replacing both.
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Additional Authorization for Bus Vehicle Supplies: Approved additional authorization of up to $40,000 for FY26 bus vehicle supplies from Gillig, for a total of $85,000. Funding from Transit Grant 61 Supplies and Materials. Community Development Director Matt Sullivan stated the additional funds are available within the existing capital budget due to incidents and fleet deterioration.
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Holman Stadium Lighting Structure System: Approved purchase of a 2025 light structure system with LED technology from Moscow Sports Lighting LLC for $815,000, funded from Bond 54 Property Services. Parks Superintendent Brian Conant noted the lights date from 1948 and the new LED lights are estimated to pay for themselves within 20 years. Demolition had already started.
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Massey Ferguson Tractor: Approved purchase of a 2025 Massey Ferguson MF4707 tractor from Big Boy Toys LLC for $102,488, funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. The tractor replaces a 2014 Kubota and came under the projected SURF cost of $185,000.
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John Deere Articulated Dump Truck: Approved purchase of one 410 P tier John Deere articulated dump truck from United Construction and Forestry for $703,500, funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. Fleet Superintendent Michael Rush stated it is a scheduled replacement for solid waste landfill operations, with a 5,000-hour warranty.
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Two Ford F-350 Pickup Trucks: Approved purchase of two 2026 Ford F-350 4x4 pickup trucks from Gripone Ford for $196,946 ($98,473 each), funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. Used by street foreman for daily operations and snow plowing. Extended warranties were included due to electronic components.
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One Ford F-350 Pickup Truck (Ladder Rack): Approved purchase of one 2026 Ford F-350 4x4 pickup truck from Gripone Ford for up to $104,588, funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. Similar to previous but with ladder rack and tow package for construction foreman.
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John Deere Excavator: Approved purchase of one 160 P tier John Deere excavator from United Construction and Forestry for up to $295,400, funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. Replaces street department's excavator, includes trade-in.
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John Deere Backhoe: Approved purchase of one 410 P tier John Deere backhoe with snow plow package from United Construction and Forestry for $211,000, funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. Replaces aging unit, includes trade-in, about $80,000 under budget.
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Two Ford F-250 Pickup Trucks: Approved purchase of two 2026 Ford F-250 4x4 pickup trucks from Gripone Ford for $124,512, funded from SURF 81 Capital Outlay and Improvements. Used by parks department foreman, combined $26,000 under SURF budget.
Record of Expenditures
- Record of Expenditures (September 26 – October 9, 2025): The committee approved the record of expenditures, confirming compliance with city charter and ordinances.
Key Outcomes
- All 10 purchasing motions and the record of expenditures were approved unanimously.
- The meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM.
Meeting Transcript
The meeting of the finance committee to order on October 15th, 2025. Mr. Clerk, would you please call a roll? Alderman Tibodeau. Here. Alderman Govea is here. Alderman Moran. Alderwoman Timmins. Alderman Clemens. Alderman Klee. Here. Mayor Donchus. Here. Four in attendance. All right. Public comment. If anyone were here to discuss anything that's on the agenda, they would be welcome to come forward, but there is no one here. So communications. First from Amy Gerard purchasing manager, Alderman Govea. In regard to boiler replacement for station four in the amount of 42,000, funded from bond 54 property services. I'll make a motion to accept place on file and approve the purchase of a replacement boiler for station four due to the failure through Palmer and Sickerd in the amount of 42,000. Funding will be through Department 152 Fire Rescue Fund, Bond 54 property services. Good evening, Steve Buxton, Fire Chief. So the uh while we were doing some uh preventive maintenance on our boilers in preparation for the heating season, uh we discovered that the heat exchanger on one of the boilers at station four had failed. Um it's 20 years old, uh, not really economically feasible to repair it at this point in time. That building has redundant heating system. That means there's two boilers there. They're a little smaller than if it was just one boiler, so they work in conjunction. Um they're connected in series. If one fails, we're kind of able to keep the building from freezing, but it will not keep the building up to temperature uh for what you know, uh deep winter type conditions. Um so at the end of it, it's a 20-year-old boiler. If failed, it'd be better than 18 grand uh to repair the heat exchanger. We still have the whole other boiler that we have to worry about. Um, and then uh to install a new one is 42,000. Um so we have that, and we're looking for a favorable approval of that this evening. Alder Alderwoman Clee. Uh, thank you very much. As I was reading this, it it it talked about that the two boilers um had to be identical, which is why we're going with this. So this new one that you're buying is the same, and if we didn't do that, we would actually have to buy two brand new ones. Is that correct? Correct. Okay, thank you. Alderman Thibodeau. Oh, are the is the remaining one and the one that failed? Are they the same age? Yes, sir. How is the condition of the one that's operating? At this point in time, we're being told it's good uh and operating appropriately. Uh as you know, we have some infrastructure problems that you guys have been so kind to give us money to start addressing some of our deferred maintenance um issues. The building controllers at station four is one of our priorities to get squared away.
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