MEXICO – Selectmen on Wednesday directed Town Manager John Madigan to learn whether the town might qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency money to replace its 45-year-old fire station.

The request came after a report by A.E. Hodsdon engineering firm of Waterville that said nearly $30,000 would be needed to make minimal, short-term repairs to the Main Street facility.

More extensive repairs at much higher costs could provide a longer lasting solution, but Madigan said the town’s long-term plan calls for possibly building a station in the next five to 10 years.

“(Making the $30,000 repairs) is a way to buy time, or it could be used to pursue FEMA funding,” Madigan said.

At issue is a growing crack in the brick building that is in the floodplain. A horizontal crack extends along an entire wall.

Paving is down about an inch from the door, he said. During the 1987 flood, water surged into the bottom floor of the station, but not into the nearby town office building.

The building is built on two levels, with the front facing Main Street, and the back, which is built into a hillside, opening near the town gazebo and nearby Androscoggin River.

“Where this is in a floodplain, maybe it will be considered an emergency,” Madigan said of a possible application to FEMA.

Action to authorize the repairs was put on hold until next Wednesday when Madigan is expected to report back to the board on whether FEMA funding may be possible.

In other matters, the board granted a conditional license approval for Highland Mobile Home Park.

Selectmen had delayed action on the licensing request last month to give the code enforcement officer, health officer and fire chief a chance to inspect the park because of reports on nonfunctioning septic systems and other health and safety matters.

The license was granted, providing the owner repairs the faulty septic systems immediately, and cleans up the debris scattered in the park, installs correct house numbers and makes other safety changes within 60 days.

The board also voted to place a photo of the Boy Scout Jamboree held at the Mexico Recreation Park last summer on the cover of the annual town report. That report, which will be available in late May, will be dedicated to former Selectman Arthur Bordeau who served many years on the board.

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