Island Falls, New Limerick gather for town meetings

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
COUNTING THE VOTES — Betti Jo Michaud, right, deputy clerk for the town of Island Falls counts the vote during Saturday’s annual town meeting. In the background is Town Manager Joseph Clark.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    Area residents continued to gather this past week as several more municipalities held their annual town meetings. The following is a recap of town meeting information that could be obtained as of presstime.
Island Falls OKs salt-sand shed construction
    At Island Falls Saturday, residents spent three hours discussing 43 warrant articles ranging from regular budgetary items, to a voter recall ordinance and naming a local bridge in memory of a citizen.
    Incumbent Brady Hatch (44 votes) and Paige Colville (50 votes) were elected to serve three-year terms on the town’s Board of Selectmen. A total of 62 voters cast ballots in the election held Friday.
    Town Manager Joseph Clark, participating in his first town meeting with Island Falls, said putting the budget together was challenging, but went well. Clark was hired as town manager for Island Falls in April 2010.
    “The process went smoothly,” Clark said. “I sat down with the board and the budget committee and we came up with ideas. This is a bare bones budget, in my opinion. Next year, we may have to cut even more because of declining state revenue.”
    The total municipal budget, as presented, was $659,835. Factoring in estimated amounts for the town’s share of the County tax ($74,088) and school budget ($800,000) the total budget for Island Falls could be $1,533,923.
    A total of 47 registered voters and seven non-registered residents attended Saturday’s meeting. Clark said the town was anticipating a $12,000-$15,000 reduction in revenue sharing. Fred Anderson served as moderator for the evening.
    Townspeople spent considerable time discussing the need for a new salt-sand shed for the community. Selectmen Toby Lougee explained the location currently being used to store salt and sand is on private property and that individual has asked the town to seek an alternative location. The town presently has $44,000 in a reserve account for the construction costs. Townspeople authorized an additional $55,000 loan over a five-year term to cover the cost of constructing a new salt-sand shed.
    The project had previously been sent out to bid, pending approval at the town meeting, with an estimated cost of about $98,400.
    One of the more hotly debated items was a request for funding from the Island Falls Historical Society. Last year, the town approved $2,500 for the group, but this year’s budget only provided $500.
    “Our request was for $2,500,” said Becky Drew, secretary and historian for the Historical Society. “It is a request we submit each year to cover our fixed costs only. This amount pays fuel and lights. If $500 is the amount approved, you are effectively shutting us down. We cannot maintain our buildings if they are not heated. The Historical Society belongs to the town of Island Falls. It’s your history.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
UNDER OATH — Island Falls Town Manager Joseph Clark,  right, swears in Fred Anderson as moderator Saturday for the town’s annual meeting.
    Although several individuals expressed a desire to see the full amount restored, under Island Falls’ town meeting guidelines, amounts cannot be increased in warrant articles, only decreased.
    Clark said he understood the Historical Society’s concerns and pledged to work with them to secure additional grant money to help make up the costs. He also explained his reasons behind the cutback.
    “I proposed [this cut] to the budget committee and the selectmen,” Clark said. “A lot of smaller towns are doing away with donations [to outside agencies].”
    He explained some communities instead have chosen to send a letter with the tax bill asking individuals to donate to various groups. That way, the individual taxpayer gets to choose which group he or she wishes to donate to and how much they wish to spend. By doing it in this manner, Clark contended that groups could actually receive more money than they originally had requested.
    After a lengthy debate, the article to give $500 was approved with 42 yes votes.
    Following the meeting, Drew said she was “obviously disappointed” by the decision.
    “It means that fundraising will now have to go for maintenance and fixed expenses instead of for development,” Drew said. “We normally average six or eight food sales. We will now have to do something at least monthly to keep it going.”
    Another hot topic was an ordinance to “recall any elected official from office,” which was generated by a voter petition. Residents objected to language in the ordinance that stated it would be the financial responsibility of the person or persons requesting the recall to cover all costs associated with the referendum vote. The article failed by a vote of 1-21.
    Voters gave their endorsement to removing a “Salt Only” ordinance for in-town streets. By removing the ordinance, the town would then have the option of using a mixture of salt and sand on those streets, potentially saving the town money. The article passed by a vote of 27-8.
    “The price of salt will probably take a jump, and changing this ordinance gives us an option to use sand if needed,” Selectmen Hatch said.
    Another article that generated considerable discussion was a request to name the new town bridge on the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag River, “The Clara B. Hathaway Bridge.” Some residents expressed concern the town was setting a precedent for other naming requests, while others feared it might create jealousy and diversity in the community.
    Clark explained in order for the bridge to be named, the town would first have to approve the measure. It would then be submitted to the state legislature for approval. The article to name the bridge passed by a vote of 20-13.
New Limerick elects official
    At New Limerick Monday, voters re-elected Mark Stile to a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen. Stile was running unopposed. However, voters were unable to come up with a candidate to fill a three-year term on the SAD 70 school board. Lauren Asselin, who did not seek re-election, previously held the seat.
    According to Town Manager Judy Nightingale, seven individuals received one vote each as a write-in candidate and therefore none of the individuals could be elected. Nightingale said it was her belief that the town’s Board of Selectmen will now be tasked with appointing someone to the school board for a one-year position, until the next regular election.
    Among the warrant articles approved was $9,000 to be placed into the town’s Fund Balance for the future construction of a salt-sand shed for the town.
    At some point, the state is going to require something different to be done with our storage,” Nightingale said. “Right now, it’s in a pit on private property. It makes sense to put money away a little each year.”
    The town has been settings aside money for about 10 years and now has $120,000 in the reserve account.
    The overall budget approved by the voters was not available by presstime, due to decreases made by voters on some articles at Monday night’s meeting, Nightingale said. One of the areas cut by voters was a request for funds by the Northern Maine Development Commission. In 2010, $1,777 was appropriated for NMDC, but the amount requested this year nearly doubled to $3,389.
    As originally presented, the budget featured a decrease over last year.
    “Last year, we had to raise quite a bit of money for roads, which we didn’t have to do this year,” Nightingale said. “We have no idea where the County tax or the school budget is going to come in at, but I don’t anticipate an increase in the mil rate this year.”