STARKS — Residents at Saturday’s Town Meeting will be asked to consider appropriating money for a new roof at the Starks Community Center as the year’s largest capital improvement project.

Selectmen and the Budget Committee are recommending spending $70,000 from undesignated funds and a building improvement fund for the new roof, according to First Selectman Paul Frederic.

“By our standards that’s a significant amount of money, but it’s a project that needs to be addressed,” he said, adding that in the past year leaking in the building has caused problems. The roofing project follows an investment of about $20,000 last year to repaint the community center, which is also the former Starks Elementary School and was taken over by the town in 2010.

It is one of 64 articles on the warrant for the Town Meeting, the business portion of which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the community center. Elections will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Friday.

The town’s tax rate, currently set at $19.50 per $1,000 worth of assessed property value is not expected to change much, although county and school expenses haven’t yet been calculated, Frederic said.

Road repairs and projects also constitute an important part of the town’s budget for 2015, though the anticipated effect on taxes should be minimal, largely because of two state grants.

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The town is planning significant repairs to Mayhew Road and Pressey Road, with the money for both to come from the state’s Local Roads Assistance Program. Residents will be asked to appropriate $18,000 for Mayhew Road and $19,000 for Pressey Road.

Selectmen and the budget committee are also asking for about $10,000 more this year for summer road repairs, but about $7,000 less for winter road maintenance, Frederic said.

Residents also are being asked to approve a $3,000 raise for the town tax collector. Selectmen and the Budget Committee are asking for $10,000, up from last year’s $7,000.

“The feeling was that she is being paid less than tax collectors in comparable towns and that it would be more in keeping with what towns of a similar size are paying if we paid her more,” Frederic said. The tax collector officially works about nine hours per week but also does work outside of office hours, he said.

There are few other changes from last year’s warrant, although selectmen and the Budget Committee are asking for an additional $500 to fund training for new Fire Department recruits. There is also an item asking the town to consider taking over the Helen Reed Scholarship, which traditionally has been run by the women’s club of the United in Christ Presbyterian Church, Frederic said. The town was approached about taking over the scholarship after the women’s club advised that it would be disbanding.

However, the town may not be able to take action on the item on Saturday unless officials have heard for sure from the women’s club on its status.

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Elections are scheduled for noon to 8 p.m. Friday at the Starks Community Center. There are no contested races. The business portion of the town meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Starks Community Center.

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm


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