CHESHIRE -- Officials have scheduled a special town meeting to garner votes from residents in order to move forward with the sale of the Cheshire Inn on North Street.
The town has been open to requests for expressions of interest for the building since the beginning of the year, but Town Administrator Mark Webber pointed out at Tuesday night's Selectmen's meeting that a vote must be taken before the property can be sold.
"It's just a procedural thing and won't address cost or any of the finer details," Webber said.
At least 25 residents are required for a quorum, and a two-thirds favorable vote is necessary. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m., at Town Hall.
Some activity is on the books in the way of proposals, as the town has received several, and Webber and Selectman Paul Astorino toured the site with another party Tuesday afternoon. Selectmen originally took possession of the building by tax title from former owner Peter Krutiak in 2011.
In other business, the dam at Thunder Brook has been completely removed, reports Highway Superintendent Peter Lefebvre, who performed work at the site.
"It's a fantastic, amazing job," Webber said. "If you go up there in about six months, it will look like it did 200 years ago."
The second part of the job -- the replacement of a culvert near the brook -- will go out to bid in the coming weeks. Six contractors attended a mandatory conference to
The project has been in the works for more than four years, funded by a variety of state and ecological groups, plus in-kind service from town employees.
In addition to the habitat and water quality improvements made possible by a freer flowing brook, Nick Wildman of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, a partner in the project, spotlighted some additional benefits.
"Removing the dam and culvert there eliminates substantial maintenance costs and liability risks for the town," Wildman said. "The dam removal portion has been great because it helped leverage the funding, putting us in a position to take care of the culvert."
Also at the meeting, the town awarded the purchase of a $195,454 new stainless steel sander truck to Delurey Sales and Services out of Albany, N.Y. The purchase of the new truck was approved by a vote at annual town meeting, to be paid by debt exclusion.
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