Unity voters reject proposal to relocate bell

UNITY — Voters rejected only one article at Saturday’s Town Meeting, a proposal to move the town’s Revere bell from Unity Town Hall’s bell tower to a display on the Town Common.

They made some tweaks to a few warrant articles before passing them, including amending the proposed $1.8 million municipal budget to include an additional $6,850 for the town’s fire department.

They also amended another article that asked the town to establish a new cemetery on Mica Mine Road within the next four years to “define other locations in town to establish a cemetery” beyond Mica Mine Road. The article passed with the amendment. A second article to establish and put $50,000 into a “Mica Mine Road Cemetery Expendable Trust Fund” passed after an amendment to remove references to Mica Mine Road.

Voters approved $100,000 to pave Mica Mine Road, as well as using $586,000 to remove and replace a culvert on Lear Hill Road by using funds from from the Unassigned Fund Balance; FEMA would reimburse the town 90% of the cost, or $528,000. They also approved $100,000 for the Roads and Bridges Capital Reserve Fund, $77,000 for the Bridges and Culverts Capital Reserve Fund, $52,000 for the Capital Reserve Fund for Highway Vehicles, $50,000 for the Fire Department Emergency Vehicle Capital Reserve Fund, and $50,000 for the Fire Department Building Capital Reserve Fund.

At Saturday’s annual school meeting, voters approved all articles as warned, including an article to create a planning committee to study the withdrawal of the Unity School District from SAU 6, which also includes Claremont.

They also approved a school budget of $3.8 million, which included the $91,000 cost of the first year of a new three-year bargaining agreement with the Unity Education Association. Voters also supported $25,000 for the Special Education Expendable Trust Fund and $30,000 for the Transportation Expendable Trust Fund.