MINOT — Selectmen reacted with surprise Monday night upon learning that the town owes the regional school system about $56,000 for the school year that ended June 30.

“In May it appeared there would be an unexpended balance, but then they overdrafted everything,” Selectman Dean Campbell said.

Town Administrator Arlan Saunders explained that he met with Regional School Unit 16 officials last week to go over a draft of the final audit that establishes the balances due to RSU 16 from the towns of Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland. The audit was done by Ouellette & Associates.

Saunders said that, according to the audit, Minot’s final figure for the settlement of accounts, as the Minot School Department ceases to exist in its merger into RSU 16, stands at about $56,000 plus an additional $20,421 that Minot owes the town of Poland to reimburse it for paying for most of the costs involved in setting up the RSU.

According to the report, it cost $111,462 for the three towns to set up the RSU. The state paid $10,369 and the remaining $101,093 was paid by Poland. Now Poland wants Mechanic Falls and Minot to pay their proportional shares.

Saunders said that Ouellette & Associates’ audit has been given to the town’s auditor, Smith and Associates, for review.

“It’s too early in the game to get upset about this. Our auditors will have to review it and someone has to explain in detail to the board what we owe,” Saunders said in response to concerns expressed by selectmen.

In other business, selectmen tabled signing the cable television contract with Time Warner because they were unsure whether the cable committee had had an opportunity to review the latest draft of the agreement.

Saunders also reported that people involved with the engine repair shop at 131 Minot Ave. are scheduled to meet with the Planning Board to discuss what uses are permitted on the small nonconforming lot.

The immediate issue is whether a business and a residence can exist on the lot at the same time. Town Code Enforcement Officer Ken Pratt has informed the out-of-state property owner and the renter that only one use is allowed. The Board of Selectmen backed Pratt in his interpretation that the only way two uses are permitted is if you have a residence and a home occupation. The engine-repair business appears to exceed the home-occupation limits, Pratt said.

Selectmen directed their representative to the Planning Board, Dan Gilpatric, to attend the Jan. 5 meeting at 7 p.m. at the town office.

Selectmen also announced that Jan. 18 is the deadline for applications for the scholarship funds the board manages. Post-secondary students interested in applying for the Arthur Harris, Roland and Noella Hemond, Leonard Simion/Elsa Fortin-Simion, and Kurt Theriault Memorial scholarship funds should contact the town office for appropriate scholarship application information.

On Thursday, Dec. 31, the town office will be open from 2 to 5 p.m., unless these hours are curtailed by storm.