The River Valley Chamber of Commerce had asked for $1,000.
PERU – The Peru town meeting Saturday was short and to the point. Only a few of the 55 warrant articles receiving any discussion.
About 40 residents turned out for what was expected beforehand to be a tame event in comparison to previous years. Held at Peru School, the meeting lasted less than two hours.
One article that took several votes before an amended version finally passed was a request by the River Valley Chamber of Commerce for $1,000. After repeated tie votes and a re-check of procedural rules, an amended article that raised $200 was passed by a 17-14 vote.
Fire Chief Bill Hussey was at the meeting in support of an article to raise money to begin a small award system and reimbursement program for volunteers in his department. Voters overwhelmingly approved the $4,000 without discussion.
Voters also approved an article raising $20,000 to be added to the $35,000 raised previously for the purchase of a plow truck. A limit of $105,000 – the estimated cost of a new truck – had been put on the purchase price, but Road Commissioner David Gammon said he is trying to find a good, used truck for far less. Any difference between the amount raised and the cost of the truck will be financed by the town over two years.
To help offset the cost to the town, the road department request for tarred roads showed a $25,000 decrease from last year’s budget of $175,000. Gammon said that a lot of the work done by his department this year will be done in low-cost repair jobs and completion of projects already started. “We wanted that new truck, and we thought this way we could keep the overall budget down,” he said.
Voters went against a recommendation by the Board of Selectmen to forgo raising $400 for the Families in Crisis Task Force. Selectman Jim Pulsifer said he believed the town provided the task force ample support already by allowing the nonprofit group to use the Rockemeka Grange Hall for meetings and functions.
Board Chairman Norman DeRoche noted that residents had approved a $3,500 budget for operating the hall this year – an increase of $1,000 over last year’s budget – and added that he felt an obligation to try to limit spending where appropriate. “(The selectmen) are in control of putting the budget together, and it’s part of our job to try and keep costs down,” he said.
In defense of the task force, Peggy Turner suggested that a recent spike in energy costs at the hall might have been caused when both floors were inadvertently heated for several weeks. She said she did not believe that the task force was responsible for the rise in heating costs.
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