FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to accept a $158,000 bid from Electrical Services of Maine in Auburn for a new Generac generator, installation and associated work at the jail.

Commissioners agreed to budget $158,000 for the generator in the 2023-24 spending plan under the jail capital account. The Budget Advisory Committee will review the proposal while holding a public hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the county Courthouse on a proposed $9.4 million overall budget.

Commissioners accepted the bid, which was a more complete package than a $142,400 bid from Pow’r Point Generator Power System, which has an office in Rangeley, officials said.

The lower bid did not include a concrete pad and earthwork, among other things. Electrical Systems of Maine did include those items and amounts for a five-year service plan, including parts and travel time. The wait time for the generator is 27 to 32 weeks.

The county has American Rescue Plan Act funds but the money is reserved for other projects. One of those building projects is to add a roughly 7,000-square-foot addition to the Regional Communications Center on County Way. The county’s Emergency Management Agency, the Sheriff’s Office and emergency operations would all be in the same building.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has progressed the county’s request through the first cut of projects for partial funding for the proposed building in the federal Capital Improvements Program, county Administrator Amy Bernard said. The county won’t hear if the money was approved until fall, or possibly winter.

The county’s match for the building would be $1 million to $1.5 million. The county will continue to look for funding sources and if there is any ARPA money left over it could be used to defer the cost later.

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