TEMPLE – The annual town meeting brought a room full of residents to the Town Office Monday night to discuss a 51-article warrant, including the election of a Selectman and Road Commissioner. Selectman Austin Foss was reelected, running unopposed, for another three-year term while Erik Hellgren, son of previous road commissioner Toby Hellgren, was elected to that position.
The warrant proposed a $419,391.60 budget, down slightly from the previous fiscal year’s expenditures.
Article 9 was approved to raise and appropriate $8,000 for the maintenance of town-owned buildings; that amount will be added to the forwarded balance of $7,136 from last year. Selectman Foss said that money will be used for some minor updates to the Town Office to prepare it for the incoming post office. Fixes such as drainage around the exterior of the building, siding work, and addressing the generator which up until this point has been stored indoors, will all need to be accomplished before the post office moves in.
Fire Chief David True told town members that they may need to start thinking about a loan for the replacement of Engine 2. Article 18 raised and appropriated $5,000 to be added to the forwarded balance of $72,883.
“Engine 2 is obsolete. Parts have to be handmade. They don’t make stuff for engines that old,” True said.
True reported that he found estimates for possible replacements- a 25-year old truck for $50,000 or a ten-year-old truck for $150,000.
