DIXFIELD — A special town meeting has been set for July 26 for residents to decide whether to purchase the former Althea Fish property, and whether to take $100,000 from surplus to be applied to this year’s tax liability.

Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky said selectmen want to know whether the town should take $35,000 from the Ione Harlow Fund to buy the nearly two-century-old Main Street house from Fish’s heirs.

Along with the building is about one acre of land that borders the Androscoggin River.

Skibitsky said officials have no immediate plans for the house, but its location opens up possibilities for the town’s future. Suggestions have included finding funds to raze the building, then constructing a public boat launch, park and parking lot.

He said selectmen may set the tax rate at the conclusion of the special town meeting. If residents approve taking $100,000 from surplus, that money could help lower taxes for fiscal year 2010-11. The current rate is $16.25 per $1,000 valuation, which is a figure that is expected to rise slightly.

Taxes are due in October and April.

In other long-term municipal planning, the board agreed at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting to solicit requests for proposal for the engineering of North, High, Pine and Rowe streets.

Skibitsky said the plan is to inventory the current status of the streets, and to learn what new construction, such as roads and water lines, may be needed.

In a related matter, the board submitted a grant request to the Maine Department of Transportation for laying a sidewalk that would extend from Dirigo Middle School off Weld Street to the Western Foothills Regional School Unit 10 central office on Nash Street.

The grant requests $143,476 for the project. Another $36,000 would be needed to complete the project. That match could come from the town or from in-kind work.

In other matters:

Selectmen approved looking into the possibility of refinancing Water Department loans. Representatives from a private bank and from the Maine Bond Bank will submit proposals in an effort to reduce the current 4.875 and 4.75 interest rates.

Selectmen Bettina Martin and Katherine Harvey were appointed to serve on an ad hoc hiring committee charged with conducting preliminary interviews with some of the 10 to 15 people who applied for an open Public Works position. Longtime employee Dickie Frost recently retired.

The board was notified that the current three-year contract for Water Department services from the Mexico Water District expires at the end of the year. Negotiations are expected to begin within a few weeks.

Several openings are available on town committees. Anyone interested in one of two slots on the Planning Board, five seats on the Finance Committee, and one position on the Water Advisory Board is asked to contact the town office at 562-8151.

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