CARTHAGE — Voters will gather in the parking lot of the Town Office at 6 p.m. July 27 for the annual Town Meeting, a plan meant to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Residents are asked to bring their chairs, sit 6 feet apart and wear face coverings. In case of rain, the meeting will be held inside with the same conditions: social distancing and face coverings.

General parking will be at the former Grange hall on Main Street; handicapped parking at the Town Office parking lot at 703A Carthage Road/Route 142.

In annual elections, Selectman Banaman Weston is the only announced candidate for a three-year term, but others may be nominated at the meeting, Selectman Jan Hutchinson said Monday.

Others seeking election are Treasurer Nancy Blodgett, Town Clerk and Tax Collector Joyce Whittemore. Brad Dyer is a candidate for one of two Regional School Unit 56 directors. Directors Tammy Brown and Donald Whittemore are not seeking reelection.

Hutchinson said voters will be asked about their interest in joining the Franklin County broadband interest.

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“We’ve been approached to join this broadband initiative that’s going on in Franklin County, but the cost to the town of Carthage, and this is just preliminary, would be $1.8 million,” he said. The town would then see if the state would provide a grant to the town if it chooses to acquire the broadband services.

Other articles include whether to purchase a TRIO computer software package and appropriate $35,000 from the Saddleback Ridge Wind Community Benefits Fund to pay for it. The fund was set up after Saddleback Ridge Wind installed three of the town’s 12 windmills in 2015 and began donating money each year to better the town.

Voters will also decide whether to approve $103,000 toward a three-year loan commitment made last year to rebuild a culvert on the Hutchinson Brook bridge on Judkins Road. The bridge is due to be built in late August or early September at a total cost of $415,000, Hutchinson said.

mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net

Carthage Town Office on 703A Carthage Road. Submitted photo.

 


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