DIXFIELD – Selectmen on Monday approved an agreement with the Rumford/Mexico Sewerage Department to accept the town’s sewer waste but delayed action on a related matter with the Mexico Sewer District to transport that waste.

They also agreed to lend a 1987 engine to the affiliated East Dixfield Fire Co. for two years.

The sewer-related issues are tied to the state’s plan to replace the existing Webb River Bridge, which connects Dixfield and Mexico just outside of town, later this year. Dixfield’s sewer pipes are attached to the current bridge.

Selectmen agreed unanimously to enter into a contract with the Rumford/Mexico Sewerage Department for the disposal of sewage at the Rumford plant at a cost of $27,000 annually.

However, further details must be worked out between Dixfield and the Mexico Sewer District on the percentage of maintenance, replacement and reconstruction, if necessary, Dixfield must pay because the pipes are owned by the Mexico entity.

“We need a joint arrangement,” Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky said.

Dixfield selectmen and Skibitsky will meet with the Mexico Sewer District board and their attorney on the matter at 10 a.m. May 19 at the Mexico Town Office.

Selectmen also unanimously agreed to lend the East Dixfield Fire Co. its 1987 engine at no cost while pursuing grant opportunities through the Department of Homeland Security or some other financing for the smaller fire company to replace its 1981 engine, which East Dixfield Fire Chief Randy Hall has said is “unfixable.”

Officials from Dixfield and adjacent Wilton met April 30 to discuss the matter. The East Dixfield Fire Co. serves residents in both Dixfield and Wilton and is funded by both towns.

Dixfield Fire Chief Scott Dennett is currently working on a grant application that would provide his department with a new dual-capability fire engine to replace the 1987 engine.

The two-year agreement would provide East Dixfield with sufficient time to either successfully win a grant or find some other method to buy a new engine, Dennett said.

“Our residents down there need something for fire protection,” Dennett said.

He said if Dixfield needed to use the 1987 engine when one of their engines was out of service, it could borrow their “loaner.”

Skibitsky said the loan of the engine will likely take place sometime prior to July 1.