BELGRADE — In a brief ceremony honoring Town Manager Greg Gill, Ernest Rice, chairman of the Board of Selectpersons, jokingly said he wasn’t sure he wanted to present the plaque.
Not long before, the two officials engaged in a lengthy debate about the merits of Belgrade officials buying a new 1-ton pickup truck with a dump body rather than a used three-quarter ton pickup truck.
Rice, who weighed in on the side of the used, smaller truck, said the town already has a 1-ton truck and it doesn’t need a second one. He favored spending $20,000 to $25,000 on a good used truck rather than shelling out the $47,000 in the Town Meeting warrant for new, larger truck.
“It’s got six tires instead of four, and that will cost more,” he said. “There are some conveniences to having two 1-ton trucks, but if we manage it right, we can do it.”
Gill, who is about to retire, laid out a different scenario. Having a new, larger truck this year will extend the life of the one the town already owns because the dump body can be moved to the new truck, which will allow more years of service from the older truck. A new truck, he said, also would come with a full warranty. Following this plan, the town would be able to buy a new truck every 12 years.
With supporters of both sides lining up and no clear winner to the debate, Road Committee member Jack Sutton offered this compromise amendment: approve the funding level and leave it to the town’s new administration to decide which option would be best.
That amendment won the day, and the measure was approved, along with 30 other articles Saturday afternoon at the Belgrade Community Center for all Seasons, where about 100 people gathered to consider budget requests for the upcoming year.
On Friday, voters returned both Rice and Richard Damren Jr. to the Board of Selectpersons for the two three-year seats up for election this year. Voters also chose Cheryl Cook to serve the balance of the term held by Bruce Plourd, who is resigning his position on the board because he’s moving out of town. Voters elected Maurice Childs as road commissioner and elected Rebecca Seel to the Regional School Unit 18 board.
They also voted by secret ballot to approve a slate of funding proposals for the Center for All Seasons and recreational programs and events at the center, funding for the library, social service agencies, and special requests such as funding for milfoil removal.
At Saturday’s Town Meeting, residents agreed to borrow $809,000 and appropriate an additional $400,000 from taxes to fund three years’ worth of road maintenance and paving. Because of the low price of asphalt, Rice said, the town has an excellent opportunity to take advantage of a special situation. The town can complete three years’ worth of hot-topping in one year, he said.
Those projects would take place on Mill Stream, Wings Mills, West, Dun Knowles, Sahagian and Point roads.
They also voted to support town operations, public safety and the town’s Fire and Rescue Department.
At the close of the meeting, which lasted just two hours, a brief reception was held honoring Gill’s years of service to the town.
Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
Twitter: @JLowellKJ
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