LIVERMORE — During the annual town meeting Wednesday, June 11, residents will consider buying a new backhoe, a compactor and whether to lease the Brettuns Community Building.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Livermore Elementary School on Gibbs Mill Road. Voters will have 51 articles to consider.

On Monday, officials dedicated the Town Report to the late Everard Leaman “Doc” Cooper, a veterinarian who died at age 87 on Nov. 30, 2013. He served the farmers and their livestock in the area and always was willing to hold a rabies clinic for residents’ animals to benefit the Livermore Fire Department. Cooper’s daughter, Susan Antone, and family members attended the June 2 dedication.

The proposed gross budget for 2014-15 is $1.3 million. It is $78,601 more than the current gross budget. After factoring in anticipated revenues, it leaves a net budget of $1.17 million for town government operations. That reflects an increase of $125,802 from this year’s budget.

It does not include the $1.83 million for the town’s share of the RSU 73 budget approved in April or the $194,253 the town was assessed by Androscoggin County. The town has $95,963 in outstanding bond debt.

Voters will consider spending up to $104,000 for a new backhoe for the Highway Department. If financed over five years at 3.5 percent interest, it is estimated to cost about $23,000 a year, interim Treasurer Amy Byron said. At that rate, the total amount to finance the backhoe is $115,170.31, according to the town report. 

If that article fails, there is a second that asks voters to raise and appropriate $15,000 to repair the 2004 JCB backhoe/loader. Highway foreman Roger Ferland told selectpersons in February that he would like to replace the 2004 machine with a heavier one.

Article 27 asks voters to consider raising and appropriating $32,000 for a new compactor, a cement pad and other associated costs. The town is moving toward single-sort recycling, and there is a need for a second compactor at the Transfer Station.

The existing compactor was installed in 2010. The plan is to use it for recycling. In 2010, the compactor cost $28,000, not including associated costs such as installing a pad under it.

Article 52 asks voters if they want the town to enter into an agreement to lease the Community Building for 99 years to the Friends of Livermore, a non-profit organization, for $1 a year. All of the costs associated with upkeep and maintenance of the building would be the group’s responsibility.

The building was constructed in 1915 as a two-room school and used until the elementary school was built in the 1960s. The town stopped using the center for town meetings about six years ago, because it did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The building is structurally sound but needs improvements, according to a former town official.

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