CANTON – In less than ten minutes, more than 40 residents, who braved the Saturday snowstorm to attend a special town meeting, elected a moderator and passed four articles.

Moderator Dave Strout moved the meeting along quickly as there was no opposition to any of the articles. This was attributed to the fact that residents had been thoroughly informed of the content of the meeting.

Article Two asked the town to authorize municipal officers to accept a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $250,000. The money is to be used for a proposed 63-by-80-foot public utilities building, namely a fire station, to be situated next to the town garage on Rt. 108.

Article Three asked the town to approve acceptance of a Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Mitigation Assistance grant for the amount of $98,000. This will identify high-priority properties and start the process of flood mitigation.

Article Four asked for the acceptance of the revised Comprehensive Plan. This revision of the present Canton Comprehensive Plan was headed by Janet Davis and Diane Ray. The surveys sent out to all citizens told the committee that residents want a viable local school that is seen as a central part of the community, a viable town center that has character, small shops, library, good landscaping, support for businesses, a good economic base, keeping the small town feel and water management including flood mitigation, lake protection and dam maintenance

The town also wanted improved recreation, safety measures explored, removal of visible junk from yards and to preserve the natural and recreational resources.

After adjournment, resident Jim Adley rose to thank all of the people involved in securing the grants and working to revise the Comprehensive plan. The crowd showed their appreciation to the selectmen and committees with applause.