Selectpersons on Monday accepted a Jay company’s low bid for work to replace roofing and siding on Jay Fire Station No. 2 and pump station at 118 Main St. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal file photo

JAY — Selectpersons agreed Monday to only accept donation requests to go before voters next year from organizations that were funded in the current budget.

They also set the timeline leading up to the annual Town Meeting referendum and election on April 25 and awarded a contract for roof and vinyl siding work on Fire Station No. 2 in the southern part of town at 118 Main St., and the pump station located there. The roofs and siding were damaged during a hail storm this past spring.

Budget books for 2023-24 are expected to be ready Jan. 11. Nomination papers for Select Board, Regional School Unit 73 directors, and water districts will  be available Jan. 17 at the Town Office. The papers are due back to the office by Feb. 24.

A budget workshop is scheduled at 5 p.m. Jan. 17 with selectpersons, Budget Committee, town manager and department heads at Spruce Mountain Elementary School. A public hearing on all warrant articles will be held at 6 p.m. March 13 at Spruce Mountain Elementary School. The vote will be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 25 at the Community Building.

In other business Monday, the Select Board voted 3-1 to award a $32,250 contract to replace the metal roof on Fire Station No. 2 with shingles and replace the siding to the low bidder, Thomas C. Goding & Son Building Contractor of Jay. Goding, who is a selectperson, moved himself away from the board’s table before discussion began on the three bids received for the project. He did not vote on the choice of contractor.

The work is scheduled to be completed by June 30.

Other bidders were Triumph Roofing Inc. of Amesbury, Massachusetts, for $35,000 and A.M. Construction and Roofing Inc. of Caribou for $55,700.

Chairman Terry Bergeron, Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo and Selectperson Lee Ann Dalessandro all voted to award the contract, while Selectperson Gary McGrane was opposed.

Prior to the vote, McGrane asked why they were replacing the metal roof on the station.

The town’s insurance company had looked at the building and had a drone fly over it to inspect the damage, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said. The company said if the town doesn’t replace the roof, any damage in the future would be the town’s responsibility, she said.

Fire Rescue Chief Mike Booker had requested at a previous meeting that the board not put a new metal roof on because the snow slides off and causes pressure on the north wall of the station. When the snow comes off and lands on the ground, if someone is not there to remove it immediately, it freezes up and causes a big pile of ice.

Sewer Department Superintendent Mark Holt said that it is dangerous especially when plowing snow from around the station and the snow falls off.

Bergeron announced that the curbside trash and recyclable pickup normally scheduled for Nov. 24 will be moved to Nov. 25 because of the Thanksgiving Day holiday.  The Town Office and the Transfer Station will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, and the Town Office will also be closed Nov. 25. The Transfer Station will be open that day.