Selectmen approve requests for bidding waivers
Nothing excites a crowd like road salt and paving—unless, of course, you throw in some bidding waivers. So, you can imagine the fervor at the October 7, 2026, Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting when Director of Public Works (DPW) John Whetton managed to get all three on the agenda. (Yes, you are correct, this reporter is being facetious.)
Road salt
First up was a request to waive the bidding requirements for road salt. Whetton reminded the board that last winter there was a salt shortage and the DPW got down to just a few barrels of when its previous supplier was unable to deliver an order placed on January 27 until April. This forced the Town to purchase outside the state bid contract, costing an additional $12,000. This year, they want to purchase directly from Eastern Salt Company, which comes at a slightly higher price than what’s available through the Capital Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) contractors.
Whetton said Eastern Salt has offered Stafford the delivered price of $101 per ton, but the lowest price available through CRCOG in Stafford’s region is $98.60 for treated road salt. The Town plans to purchase 3,100 tons; it will cost about $7,440 more to purchase outside of the state bid system for a total of $313,100. It’s also worth noting that according to a document prepared by Whetton, Eastern Salt’s price through CRCOG is $107 per ton. DPW buys road salt using Town Aid Road funds provided by the state.
The selectmen approved the bid waiver unanimously.
During the public comment section of the meeting, Marnie Hofmann, suggested that the state bid pricing for salt was $60-$70. So, Stafford Free Press asked Whetton to explain the numbers. He pulled up the current CRCOG pricing sheets for both treated and untreated salt and showed this reporter the numbers for Stafford’s region, verifying that the lowest price available in our region was $98.60 per ton. The lowest amount for untreated road salt—which is not what Stafford is purchasing—was still higher than $70 per ton.
Paving
At previous meetings, Whetton mentioned the possibility of paving Forest Road, Woodland Drive, Laurel Drive, Barbara Lane, and Westford Avenue if funding and timing allowed—and they did. However, the previous contract with the paving contractor ran out and so at the October meeting he was back asking for a “case-specific purchasing waiver” to get Galasso Materials LLC on the job starting next week.
Galasso paved Diamond Ledge Road, Colburn Road, Old Springfield Road, New City Road, and Hampden Road. According to a document provided by Whetton the value of the project is $644,355.91.
Selectman Tim Cromwell noted that he wanted to ensure Stafford doesn’t waive the bidding process in the future, prompting Whetton to share his plans for the future. He noted that the way the Town of Stafford paves a road is not the same as the way the State paves a highway. For that reason, he feels that as the Town sets it priorities for the next three to five years, it should consider looking outside of the CRCOG system and have contractors bid directly on the jobs.
The board unanimously approved the waiver.
