RUMFORD — Voters approved a $9.35 million municipal budget Tuesday and authorized money toward a new boat landing on the Androscoggin River next to Route 2.
By a vote of 497-348, voters authorized appropriating $50,000 from the capital reserve account as the local share for the $200,000 project.
“Right now, the way the current boat ramp is situated, it’s nearly (impossible) to launch and load a boat,” said Tom Bourret, one of a group of townspeople who want to see the site improved to attract more users. “The current takes the boat and it’s difficult for people who want to use it. There’s some significant deterioration, too.”
Bourret said the landing was built in the mid-1980s and is still useful to carry in or launch small canoes and kayaks.
The new launch, which will be in the same area, will offer ease of access to the river and provide more parking space, he said.
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Parks and Land Division, has an annual grant program for municipalities and other nonprofits to help reconstruct and redesign water access, Bourret said.
The town has been approved for a pre-application and has had a site visit, allowing it to apply for the grant, he said.
The project would get underway in the fall of 2020.
Voters rejected by a vote of 395-429 raising $30,000 for EnvisionRumford. The money was to buy year-round banners and seasonal decorations for the entire town, including Rumford Center, Hosmer Field, Routes 2 and 108, and the historic downtown.
The organization’s mission is to improve the town. EnvisionRumford includes the group Beautify Rumford.
Stephanie L. Reed, who chairs Beautify Rumford, said there was also a plan for a $5,000 garden to complement the new bandstand in Veterans Memorial Park.
In other budget issues, Finance Director Deb Laurinaitis said the spending plan for 2019-20 includes $213,250 in initiated articles, as well as $400,000 from excise taxes for the permanent roads account.
bfarrin@sunmediagroup.net
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