New fire truck, town hall repair bond on Sangerville warrant

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    SANGERVILLE — Voters in Sangerville will face a 58-article annual town meeting warrant on Saturday, March 29; and if all articles pass, the budget will be about $25,000 higher than last year.
    Town Manager David Pearson said that two major articles on the warrant, if approved by voters, will have no impact on next year’s budget.

    Voters will be asked to approve the purchase of a 2014 Rosenbauer fire truck at an estimated cost of $270,000 by using $139,000 from the fire truck reserve account and taking out a loan with an 11-year payback period. The first payment, estimated at $15,000 per year, wouldn’t be due until 2015.
    The new model would replace a 1975 Chevrolet, which former Fire Chief Chuck Bean has described as an unsafe, obsolete vehicle. The Rosenbauer would have a 350-hp Cummins diesel engine and automatic transmission and would take approximately 10 months for delivery.
    The three-member Board of Selectmen has unanimously recommended passage of the article.
    Residents will also vote on whether to authorize the town to “borrow or bond” an amount not to exceed $100,000 for town hall repairs. This would include the replacement of clapboards on the west and south side of the building, creating a records room in the basement, buying new carpeting for the first floor, paving the parking lot and installing an improved alarm system.
    This would also be financed by an 11-year note with an estimated annual payment of $11,200 per year starting in 2015.
    The has been widespread support for the renovations since Sangerville observes its 200th anniversary this year with a town-wide celebration on June 14. Selectmen have also endorsed this article.
    Most of the other articles in the $1.73 million budget are rather routine, Pearson said. One exception is a measure to spend $5,870 for a computerized motor vehicle registration program. “The selectmen recommended it, but the budget committee didn’t,” Pearson said. “It would really be a time-saver for the office staff.”
    Voters will also decide whether to approve a one-day exemption from the town’s existing prohibition of on-premises alcohol consumption to permit a beer tent to be set up for the 200th anniversary celebration.
    A two-page livestock ordinance is also on the warrant which would specify where cattle, horses, sheep, goats and other traditional farm animals could be housed. However, residents would be able to keep a small number of hens anywhere in town, as long as they’re in an enclosure or fenced-in area, spelled out in the proposed statute.
    Nominations for office are made from the floor and voters will elect one selectman for a three-year term, one SAD 4 director for a one-year term, one SAD 4 director for a three-year term, a fire warden, sanitary district trustee and Hospital Board Administrative District director.
    Sangerville’s mil rate is $16.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
    The town meeting gets underway at 9 a.m. at the fire station.