SABATTUS — On Tuesday evening, Town Manager Andrew Gilmore facilitated his final meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Gilmore’s last day in office will be Thursday, July 23.
The board members presented Gilmore with a desk clock containing an engraved message of thanks for his service to the town of Sabattus.
Selectmen Chairman Mark Duquette told Gilmore, “You have shown me what a town manager is, and I’m really going to miss you.”
Police Chief Tony Ward will be interim town manager while the board begins hiring procedures. Gilmore has equipped Ward with a list of important matters at hand while offering the board direction on cost-effective ways to handle the recruiting process.
The Sabattus mill rate is still pending the outcome of the school budget vote. A special town meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, at the Oak Hill High School gymnasium, to discuss and vote on the revised school budget. The budget will then go to a referendum vote on Tuesday, July 28. If the referendum passes, the board will determine the tax rate by Aug. 4. If the budget does not pass, the board will decide to either base the tax rate on the original budget or to wait for the budget to pass.
In other news, the board unanimously agreed with Chief Ward’s suggestion to transfer ownership of 10 various firearms, obtained from police seizures, to a company in Turner that specializes in weapons. The Turner company will offer $1,500 store credit to the town, which will be used to buy ammunition and to upgrade the firearms currently in use by the police force.
The board also congratulated Normand LaPlante and the Sabattus Family Fun Festival Committee on the success of the Family Fun Fest, held on July 16. The turnout was the highest it has ever been. LaPlante reported that it is the volunteers and the committee that made the event a success and he hopes to surpass this year’s numbers at the 10th annual Family Fun Festival to be held next year.
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