MEXICO — Voters approved all articles for the 2022-23 municipal budget Tuesday, according to Town Clerk Tami A. Vradenburgh.
Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day said this budget is unchanged from the previous budget of $3.29 million.
Winning three-year seats for the Board of Selectmen are incumbent Peter Merrill (165 votes) and Randall Canwell (144). Incumbent Reggie Arsenault fell short with 133 votes.
Incumbent Peter DeFilipp ran unopposed for a three-year position on the Regional School Unit 10 board of directors.
Welch-Day said a big factor in keeping the budget down was the higher than expected growth of the town’s General Fund, of which “the auditor said we needed to spend some money. That really helped us out, plus we were able to pay extra debt.”
At a special town meeting on Oct. 19, residents approved three expenditures from the town’s General Fund.
That included $162,260 to debt service to pay off loans; $95,900 to set aside for the purchase of cab and chassis for a snow plow for the highway department; and $2,500 for local access TV station WVAC.
At the time, Welch-Day said there was $662,104 available from the General Fund. Regarding the cab and chassis, she noted the town is looking to gain placement on a one-year waiting list necessary because of the shortage of available equipment.
Voters also approved an article to authorize selectmen to purchase 20 acres at 165 Roxbury Road for a new fire station. Welch-Day said the purchase price is $100,000. At the previous annual town meeting, voters approved up to $100,000 for a land purchase for the facility.
Welch-Day said the town is not going to rush this project as Bancroft engineers indicated that it should be four to five years before the current fire station on Main Street would require more structural work.
She said there is funding for just one construction project, with the expenditure calling for nearly $96,000 to reconstruct the entire Middle Avenue. This includes using reclaim, fine grade, two-inch base pavement and surface pavement.
Welch-Day said selectmen had a discussion a couple weeks ago about moving the town library on Main Street to the Recreation Center on Parker Street. As a result of that, the town did a straw poll at the town meeting to ask whether citizens supported selling the building, which they did, 197-114.
She said the library should be moved by the end of summer, with voters to be asked in November to sell the building presently housing the library.
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