MEXICO — What began as a heads-up on the availability of a piece of equipment in New Hampshire turned out to be a bargain for the town’s highway department It was for a vacuum sweeper, which the town was in need of. After a phone call to the vendor, two highway department workers were sent to check it out and if they like it, had the authority to purchase it. At the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Feb. 11, it became a highlight of the evening.
‘What a bargain,’ noted Town Manager John Madigan, noting that the sweeper was practically new, with only 18,000 miles. A new one will set a town back about $200,000. ‘We got it for $20,000.’
Selectman George Byam added that they also traded in their oldest sander to get another $2,000 off on the sweeper. In addition, there are attachments for the machine which will be send along to the town once they are located.
In other business, the board authorized Madigan to advertise for an alternate Board of Appeals member. The three-year appointment for Connie Tutlis expires on June 30, 2016. New appointments are for fiveyear terms.
The reason for the alternate is that Madigan indicated that for the first time in his nine years here, a citizen of the town is taking a complaint to the Board of Appeals. That involves a decision made by the assessor.
The other two members of the three-person board are Peter DeFilipp and Randy Canwell.
The board approved Police Chief Roy Hodsdon and Lt. Dan Carrier for the authority to continue investigation and/or chases outside their jurisdiction.
Madigan told selectmen they previously approved former Chief James Theriault and Hodsdon, when he was a lieutenant, for the statewide police authority.
The Mexico Police Department will host its third neighborhood watch meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at their office on Parker Street in Mexico.
Hodsdon noted, ‘The idea with the neighborhood watch is that I need some help. There’s only one of us out there at any given time. Just that phone call to us, maybe just one chance out of 10, might be that one time we see the person to help us with that one little piece to solve a crime.’
The board voted to remove $305 from the Economic Development account to pay for a halfpage advertisement in the River Valley Directory Four Seasons Guide.
Selectman Reggie Arsenault said the advertisement should include directions on how to reach the Mexico Recreation Park.
“It’s one of our hidden treasures,” Selectman Byron Ouellette said. “I definitely think we should include it. Maybe even add a little map to show people how to get there.”
The board also voted to schedule its first budget meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, in the Calvin B. Lyons room of the Town Office.
Madigan said selectmen and the Budget Committee would figure out future budget meetings when they meet March 12.
Board Chairman Richie Philbrick told fellow selectmen that the Mexico Recall Committee recently finished the final draft of a recall ordinance.
“I think we had a really good group of people in the committee. It was nice to see some new blood getting involved with the town,” he said.
The next step, he said, is placing the draft before selectmen for approval. If they okay it, the ordinance would go before voters.
The recall ordinance effort began during a Planning Board meeting on Aug. 29, 2013. Albert Aniel attempted to submit a recall ordinance to selectmen, saying the town “needed an ordinance to be able to remove selectmen if they were not acting in the best interest of the voters, abusing their position, acted inappropriately or were convicted of a crime.”
The ordinance was rejected in a 4-3 vote at that meeting.
Since then, a petition containing nearly 150 signatures was submitted to selectmen, and on Sept. 24, 2013, the board voted to have the Planning Board draft a recall ordinance.
The Planning Board voted against drafting it and left it in the hands of selectmen.
On Oct. 8, selectmen voted to create the Recall Ordinance Committee.
Selectmen approved a pawnbroker’s license for the Mexico Trading Post.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
