DIXFIELD — Residents will have a chance on Monday to decide whether to authorize the town to buy the former Althea Fish house on Main Street, and whether to take up to $100,000 from surplus to apply toward the town’s tax liability.
The special town meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 26, at Ludden Memorial Library.
Selectmen are asking residents to approve use of up to $45,000 from the Ione Harlow Community Fund for the purchase of the nearly 200-year-old home and its one-acre parcel.
Fish’s heirs have agreed to sell the property for $35,000. The additional funds would be used to remove all or part of the sprawling building and sheds.
Tentative plans are to use the lot, which abuts the banks of the Androscoggin River, as a public boat launch and for parking. Other uses may be considered once the town owns the property.
Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky has said that selectmen will likely decide specifics once voters act on the purchase.
If voters approve taking up to $100,000 from the undesignated fund balance, that would help keep property taxes down. The current rate is $16.25 per $1,000 valuation.
Skibitsky said that the new tax rate may be set following the town meeting.
The board’s meeting will take place in the town office at 5 p.m. prior to the special town meeting.
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