PERU — Former Selectman Norman DeRoche told selectmen Monday night that Friends of the Peru Elementary School would likely submit a request for town funds to help maintain the old school.
Town Clerk Vera Parent said all financial articles for the November ballot must be approved by the Finance Committee and selectmen before Sept. 29.
Friends of the Peru Elementary School leases the building from the town at no cost. When voters approved this arrangement, they also voted to not spend any town money on the building.
DeRoche said many local organizations, such as the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, meet in the building. The local food bank, which serves more than 300 families, also uses it.
Selectmen agreed that having a community building was a valuable asset for the town and no one opposed supporting it.
Peruvians for Honest Government activist Dawna Kazregis thought an article clarifying that residents are being asked to rescind their former decision to not fund Friends of the Peru Elementary School should be voted on before considering an article for funding. She said she did not object to funding the group, but she thought voters might not recall the former vote.
Selectman Jim Pulsifer said he believed the town should take back the building and let the Friends group operate it. He said there are safety issues, such as getting the elevator inspected, that the town could handle better than the group.
The Friends of the Peru Elementary School board will meet Wednesday night to formally consider making a request for funds. A special meeting of the Finance Committee will be called to consider the request so selectmen can consider it next Monday night.
Resident Larry Porter asked selectmen for an accounting of money spent by the former Recreation Committee. He said that since that committee was dissolved, the town has spent about $340 per year on recreation. He said the former committee spent about $2,400 per year, and he would like an accounting of that money.
Board Chairman Lee Merrill said he did not believe the town would ever receive a full account of the committee’s expenditures.
In other business Monday, resident Kevin Stanley said he intends to build a hunting camp for warming up, but not for overnight use. He said he was forced to install a gray water disposal system and pay $400 for a design for a septic system, while selectmen thought a pipe leading into a dry well full of rocks and costing less than $100 should be sufficient for disposal of dishwater.
Stanley said that after paying to get the design, he was hit with another $150 bill for a plumbing permit.
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