Surry voters reject town office project

SURRY – Town meeting voters on Monday defeated a proposal to spend about $520,000 to renovate and expand the municipal office and fire station.

The vote was 76-46.

“I guess we’ll just have to see” what the town’s options are now, Selectman Wilbur Saunders said Tuesday. “We don’t have a backup plan yet.”

The proposal, developed over two years by a citizen committee, included expanding the fire station, increasing the size of the town’s public meeting room and renovating the town office.

Voters made minor changes to some of the warrant articles, Saunders said, but approved all other questions, including:

. Creating a town finance committee to assist selectmen in developing the annual budget and policies and procedures for internal control of town accounts.

. Creating a waterways commission to oversee the operation and maintenance of waterfront facilities.

. Changing the town fiscal year from a January-to-December year to a June-to-July year to match the state fiscal year.