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The editor is John Ryan at email: perugazette@gmail.com. The Peru Gazette is a free community, education and information website. It is non-commercial and does not accept paid advertising.

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Highlights of Peru Town Board’s February 28th Meeting 

Town Hall COVID Restrictions Reduced:  Effective March 1, 2022, the town will not lock the town hall doors during regular office hours. Anyone entering who is not vaccinated is requested to wear a mask.

Youth Commission:  The Youth Commission sometimes has had a problem getting seven of its nine members present at meetings, the number its by-laws require for a quorum. At Town Attorney Matt Favro’s suggestion, the board asked the Youth Commission to propose reducing its membership from nine to seven with the quorum being 51% or four members. The board’s liaison to the Youth Commission, Councilman Melvin Irwin, said he thinks more people would like to become members. If volunteers step forward, the board could increase the number of Youth Commission members.

Heyworth-Mason Park:

Summer music concerts begin on the last weekend in June.

A historic bell should soon be installed on a twelve-foot-high bell tower at Heyworth-Mason Park if all goes as planned. The park was once home to a starch factory operated by the Heyworth family. The bell was located high atop the Heyworth house. When it was time for the factory’s workers to have lunch, someone sounded the bell. Councilman Rick Barber is donating the bell to the town. Jeffords Steel and Engineering is contributing the steel beams for the tower. Karl Schweikert, the owner of K&S Body Works, volunteered to paint the beams, and Richard Arnold, the owner of Arnold’s Welding, offered up to $500 of free labor to construct the tower.

The board is also considering purchasing a stage cover and increasing available parking. Discussions are ongoing.

Every event at Heyworth-Mason Park costs the town a few dollars for prepping, cleanup, etc.; therefore, the board discussed charging a reasonable user fee. However, the board will investigate other towns’ policies before introducing fees.

Highway Department: Superintendent Michael Farrell reported that town snowplows had broken several mailboxes. Farrell said the breakage is inevitable when plows move large amounts of snow and ice. However, Farrell said state law doesn’t require the town to replace the mailboxes.

Planning Board: The board reappointed Mark Lukens to a seven-year term on the Planning Board effective January 1, 2022.

Route 22 Solar Farm: – The Town of Peru recently approved RENUA Energy’s construction of a 5 Megawatt solar farm situated on a 27 to 28 acre Moffat property at 3831 Route 22. RENUA recently transferred ownership to Nexamp, a major solar energy developer. Ryan M.McCune, a Nexamp Business Development Manager, responded to questions and discussed two pending contracts between Nexamp and the Town of Peru. Peru’s Solar Farm law requires that a solar farm developer make a so-called environmental contribution to the town based on a percentage of the project’s total. Nexamp proposed contributing $14,126 for sidewalks, electric vehicle charging stations, park improvements, street lights, bike racks, etc. It also offered a $175,000 decommissioning bond subject to be renegotiated every five years. Most solar farms have a useful life of about 25 to 35 years. After a brief discussion, the board approved both contracts.

David Byrne, President of RENUA EnergyRENUA, stated that construction would begin this spring. However, McCune told the Peru Gazette that construction would not start until next year. Instead, project planning will take place this year. He mentioned equipment supply chain delays as one of the issues. The legal name for this project is Northway Solar LLC.

Sewer System Upgrade Phase #1: The board amended its contract with Tedford Consulting to pay $39,753 related to extra paperwork pertaining to the ongoing sewer system upgrade project.

Sewer System Upgrade Phase #2: The town has advertised bids for the Phase #2 sewer upgrade project along Elm Street. The bid opening is scheduled for March 22 at 10 a.m. at the town hall.

Water Treatment Plant Upgrades: The board approved the emergency purchase of a polychem chain and sludge collection system from Brentwood Industries at an estimated cost of $55,900. Councilman Kregg Bruno asked why an emergency (no-bid) purchase was necessary. Water-Sewer Department Superintendent Courtney Tetrault said it was essential to move quickly because there are issues with the present equipment. A system failure would result in environmental regulation violations.