ROXBURY — Voters approved a $725,701 budget during Monday evening’s annual town meeting.
The warrant’s 75 articles were acted on in 90 minutes.
Most of the discussion centered around Article 14, which asked voters if they wished to authorize selectmen to take out a seven-year loan of not more than $800,000 to complete Roxbury’s Road Improvement Project.
Selectman Tim Derouche told voters the Road Improvement Project is in the fourth of four phases.
Among the projects planned this year are improving village roads and a 9,149-foot stretch of Main Street, as well as paving the Town Hall parking lot and reconstructing the road leading to Pine View Cemetery, he said.
All construction will be done by Swasey Excavation of Andover, Derouche said.
Residents approved $359,542 and will transfer $15,458 from the Future Road Projects account to repay the current bond principal and interest for the Road Improvement Project.
Derouche told residents, “This money will be going toward the payment of the first $800,000 loan that we took out for the Road Improvement Project.”
Voters approved a $144,993 winter road-maintenance budget, up from the $120,484 in 2013.
“Our sand pile this year is just about depleted, so we’re probably going to have to order 2,000 yards of sand next year, instead of the 1,000 yards we do most years,” Derouche said. “Just because we appropriate that money for winter roads doesn’t mean we’ll spend it all next year.”
Residents also voted to raise and/or appropriate $738 to support Black Mountain of Maine.
Chairman John Sutton pointed out that this was the first time that Black Mountain has ever requested money from the town.
Timothy Buzzard, treasurer of the Black Mountain board of directors, told residents, “We just want to thank the town of Roxbury for your support over the years, and thank you for considering our request.”
One resident called Black Mountain “a gem in this community” and recommended that residents approve the $738.
Sutton said the request would be equivalent to each Roxbury resident donating $2 to the Rumford ski resort.
Sutton and RSU 10 school board Director Denise Cross were reappointed to three-year terms. They were unopposed.
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- Town Clerk Nina Hodgkins, left, swears in David Duguay as moderator of Roxbury’s annual town meeting Monday night at the Town Office.
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