Perry residents vote to approve addition to municipal building

About 40 people attended the annual Perry town meeting and voted on 64 articles in just over two hours. Residents engaged in a lengthy discussion on whether to allow the town to construct a 30'x 50' addition to the existing municipal building on Route 1. The purpose of the addition, according to selectmen and town administrators, would be to house an office for serving the public, to hold a fireproof and waterproof vault for storage of town records, and to provide the fire department personnel with access in order to comply with regulations of the State Fire Marshall's office. The cost of the building would not exceed $150,000, and funds would be expended over a period of 15 years at a fixed interest rate of 5.2% for an estimated yearly payment of $14,651. Funds would be used from the land annex account, which has a balance of $420,323.

Roger Keezer Sr. told the selectmen, "I think this addition is too large. Have you cost and priced it out? Do you plan on being your own contractor?" Selectman David Turner responded, "Well, yes, we have got several quotes, and we plan on talking to engineers about it." Turner explained in detail how the addition would be built. Mike Patulak commented, "I think that the size is appropriate. The population is shifting and moving. I feel it is projecting for the future."

Treasurer Barbara Hicks was concerned about the storing of vital records and paperwork that is accumulating at her home as well as at the town clerk's home in Pembroke. Kevin Raye spoke about the liability to the town if an unexpected accident or injury occurred at a town employee's residence. "We also have to have handicap accessibility for anyone who may need it." Georgie Kendall wanted to know if the addition would use "green energy or solar power." Turner said, "No. That would too expensive."

The majority of those at the town meeting voted in favor of the addition.

Perry voters approved an increase in the annual salaries of the town clerk, tax collector and treasurer. The town clerk was given a raise of $1,000 and will now earn $3,500. The tax collector received a raise of $1,000, and the treasurer received a raise of $2,000. The two positions now will receive salaries of $8,500 each.

The town voted to establish November 30, 2009, as the date on which property taxes are due and payable. Tax bills will be sent out before September 30.

Perry firefighters got high praise from voters and a round of applause for their continuing efforts in responding to emergency calls and accidents. Voters appropriated $12,000 in firefighter expenses, $10,000 for the operating budget, and $5,000 for a new fire department bay door. According to Fire Chief Paula Frost, "The two existing doors will come out, and one single overhead door will replace it. This will give us the room we need to get our new truck in and out without losing our rear view mirror."

The town voted to appropriate $10,000 to the municipal building maintenance account with the intent to replace the existing roof eventually. The roof is 31 years old.

Residents discussed the high cost of trash removal to the Marion Transfer Station. The cost to the town has increased and is expected to "get worse," according to selectman Dick Adams. At a previous meeting, the budget committee had encouraged Perry residents to try to recycle paper, glass and plastics. The town voted to appropriate $46,500 for sanitation costs. Residents can call the town office to find out about recycling.

Town officials got the go-ahead to purchase a new loader with a purchase price of $78,600 plus a $1,000 warranty, offset by the trade-in of the old loader for $28,000, resulting in a net cost of $51,700. The loader will be purchased using funds from an existing road equipment reserve account. A new plow truck will be purchased to replace an older one. The purchase price is $95,825, which also includes a trade-in offset of $8,500. A total of $8,300 will be used from the same reserve account, and a balance of $87,525 will be borrowed at an estimated interest rate of 3.42%. Four annual payments of $23,100 will be issued. This proposal drew some comments. Mike Patulak said, "Isn't it cheaper to get and use somebody else's money to finance it?" Selectmen felt that they did their homework in investigating financing for the equipment, and voters approved the deal.

More discussion occurred around Article 16, a proposal for the town to contract for a town-wide property revaluation for tax assessment purposes. The revaluation would be conducted over a period of three years and would cost $48,000. Selectmen had requested $75,000 last year and were turned down. The new revaluation proposal would include a trained assessor to go door to door and bring records up to date. "It's been 25 years since this has been done," said Turner. Patulak asked, "This isn't going to be somebody playing with numbers on a computer is it?" Turner assured him, "No, this is going to be done right." Residents voted to approve the revaluation proposal.

One of the last issues that voters discussed concerned authorization for a number of accounts to be carried forward as unexpended in order to reduce the commitment on the 2009/2010 budget. The total was $406,166.93. Howard Calder, shellfish committee chair, requested that an amendment be made to omit the amount of $14,199.20 from the list of accounts. Calder said that the account is "no expense or benefit to the town," and since shellfish harvesters had a "bad year" due to red tide, the money should remain on its own. "I was always taught to save for a rainy day," Calder said. The town voted in favor of leaving the money in the shellfish account. Article 49 passed with a new total of $391,967.73 to be used toward reducing the tax commitment.

By a vote of 31 to 2, residents approved the Perry School Department warrant articles totaling $1,626,447. The proposal presented to voters had an increase in special education costs and secondary education costs. The increase to taxpayers would be $47,940, which is less than a 1% increase in the mill rate. To validate the budget, the state is requiring a referendum vote. On Thursday, September 3, from 3 to 7 p.m. a referendum vote will be held on the following question: "Do you favor approving the Town of Perry school budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at the latest town meeting and that includes locally raised funds that exceed the required local contribution as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act?" A "yes" vote allows additional funds to be raised for K-12 public education. A "no" vote means additional funds cannot be raised for K-12 education.

Several town officials were elected for the ensuing year at the town meeting. Shawn Harris and Michael Pottle were elected to the board of appeals for three-year terms; Robert Patterson, Suzanne Bechard and Ann Pottle were elected to the recreation committee for three-year terms; Lee Harris was elected to the equipment committee for a three-year term and Gerry Morrison was elected to fill a one-year term created by the resignation of Graydon Ritchie Jr. Elected to the municipal building committee for three-year terms were Randy Newcomb and Roger Keezer Sr.

Residents voted to change the terms for the offices of tax collector, town clerk and treasurer from one year to three years with the start of the 2010 municipal election.