ROXBURY — Voters increased spending Monday night, raising $652,643 at the annual town meeting.

That is $65,537 more than last year, Tax Collector/Treasurer Renee Hodsdon said.

The amount included appropriating $48,729 for the first payment on a $300,000 bond to build a 96- by 58-foot sand/salt building.

Most of the discussion was about the winter road budget, which increased to $214,798 from $185,000 last year. The budget has a balance of $34,798 from 2019.

The sum of $98,000 covers the first year of a three-year plowing contract.

Selectman Tim Derouche said the town has hired Charlie Pappas of Roxbury for the job. He was selected from four bidders.

Derouche said Pappas will be 100 percent bonded and if the town is not satisfied with the work, the contract can be nullified and the town can hire someone else.

John Sutton, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the contract stipulates Pappas’ equipment must be inspected by the state about Sept. 1.

The town plowing includes more than 13 miles of roads, plus the boat launch, two dry hydrants, the Town Office and Fire Department parking lot.

Some 30 voters approved all 70 articles on the warrant.

Sutton was re-elected for another three years, and his wife, Kathy, was elected to the Regional School Unit 10 board for three years. Both were unopposed.

At a social before the town meeting, selectmen dedicated the Annual Town Report to the Roxbury Swift River Valley Extension and presented the group with the 2020 Maine Spirit of America Foundation Award for their service to the town.

Accepting the honors were Karen Gallant, Margaret Mann, Janine Marston, Evon Soule, Pam Duguay, Gloria Pomerleau and Nina Hodgkins. Unable to attend were members Irene Hutchinson, Bertha Kelley, Lorraine Legere, Judy Boucher and Cecelia Vistica. A 50-year member, Faye Philbrick, recently died.

The group was organized in May 1922 as the Women’s Division of the Roxbury Farm Bureau, with duties including community service projects and flower shows. In 1972, they became the Swift River Valley Extension. Projects the past several years include quilts for the homeless, Christmas baskets delivered to shut-ins, and raising money for a gas meter for the Rumford Fire Department.

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