MEXICO – Selectmen will meet with their Rumford counterparts today to gauge interest in merging the towns, unless another snowstorm prevents it.

Mexico Town Manager John Madigan said Tuesday morning that the 5:30 p.m. gathering was scheduled to discuss forming a regionalization commission with Rumford. Additional talks will focus on a $25,000 planning grant application to study the feasibility of merging the two towns.

Then, 60 minutes later, at Mexico’s regularly scheduled selectmen’s meeting at 6:30 p.m., Mexico selectmen will continue to discuss both topics.

Merger discussions between the towns are nothing new, but this is the first time officials in both towns have actively pursued a grant to study the feasibility.

“It ought to be studied,” Madigan said. “Nobody can say whether it’s good or bad until the data is available. It’s been talked about for forever. I was dealing with this 20 years ago” when serving as Rumford’s town manager.

Wednesday’s meeting in the Mexico town hall will determine if Mexico wants to proceed with merger talks.

On Jan. 17, Rumford selectmen unanimously voted to form a regionalization commission comprised of town managers from the two towns, and both a selectman and resident from each town. The panel would study whether both towns could save money by combining public services.

If it’s not feasible, the commission would dissolve, according to Rumford Selectman Frank DiConzo, who made the motion to form the group.

Rumford and Mexico boards were scheduled to meet 60 minutes before their 6:30 p.m. meeting on Feb. 13, but it was canceled by a snow and ice storm.

Now, another snowstorm forecast to drop between 8 and 16 inches from Tuesday through today could bump the meeting into March.

To learn if the meeting will be canceled again, contact the town office at 364-7971 by 11 a.m. today.