Council, SAD 29 to explore bus garage alternatives

  HOULTON, Maine — SAD 29 will be able to keep its busses in the municipal garage for at least the next month after the Houlton Town Council agreed Monday not to force the school district out with a 30-day notice.
    Town Manager Doug Hazlett first broached the subject two months ago when he informed SAD 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer that the town was interested in having its space back at the municipal garage.
SAD 29 has stored its busses at the municipal garage for decades and has a month-to-month lease with the school district in the amount of $5,200 to use a portion of the municipal garage to park some of its busses inside, and to also use a portion of the workspace.
“The reason is we need the space,” Hazlett said. “It wasn’t about the economics of the lease. It was about us having equipment that sits outside all winter long and it could be best served being inside. Ultimately, we would like to have the space back.”
No date had been set for when the school district had to remove its busses. The topic came up at a Nov. 28 council meeting when councilor Mike Jenkins requested the matter be added to the Dec. 12 agenda. At that time, Jenkins said he was looking at sending the district a 30-day notice to remove the busses.
“I wanted to see this handled in our budget year,” Jenkins said. “They are going to be starting their budget too. We need to know if we are going to have revenue coming in. They need to know if they have to change their expenses based on that? I felt putting the issue off was undoable.”
Council chairman Paul Cleary said he was not comfortable giving the district a 30-day notice of eviction. Instead, he wanted to see Hazlett work with Hammer to come up with a solution that was agreeable for both parties.
However, Cleary added the lease amount of $5,200 was not sufficient to cover the expenses of heat and electricity to the building.
“We are losing money,” Cleary said. “I think you (Hazlett) should sit with Mike (Hammer) and come up with a new lease amount to cover costs so that we are not losing money. Then come back to the council. That way it’s a happy medium and we are not looking like the Grinch before Christmas.”
Cleary also reminded the council that if the school board was tasked with any new construction of a bus garage, the town of Houlton would be responsible for 74 percent of that expense.
Exactly how the figure of $5,200 was agreed upon was unknown. Cleary estimated that heat for the building cost the town $21,000, while electricity added another $11,000.
Hammer, who was in attendance for the meeting, was asked if he wanted to provide any input on the matter.
“We knew this was coming, and we do appreciate (having) a little bit of time,” Hammer said. “We are looking at all of our options. There have been a lot of offers from people around town. It will increase the bottom line for the town if we go into something more expensive. We want to keep expenses down.”
Jenkins thanked Hammer for attending the meeting, stating it was the first time he could recall that a superintendent came to a council meeting.
Rest Area discussion
The council also discussed a new wrinkle in its plan to take over the rest area on the North Road. Back in June, councilors voted to move forward with discussions with the state’s Board of Tourism to take over the rest area property located near the Interstate 95 southbound ramp. The council was advised by MDOT in 2009 that it was looking to turn ownership of the property over to the town, or risk the state closing the rest area.
At that time, Hazlett estimated the cost of maintaining the rest area to be between $6,000 to $8,000 per year. However, that figure has grown dramatically, as evidenced by a line in the 2012 budget seeking about $62,000 per year for maintenance.
The solution the state came up with was to turn the deed for the rest area over to the town, with the provision that the town continues to maintain it as a rest area. Currently, a Visitors Center operates from that location. If the visitor’s center were to close, the state would put the property up for sale, giving Houlton first refusal to pay fair market value for the property.
The property is currently assessed at $763,500, according to Town Clerk Cathy O’Leary. Fair market value, however, could be higher or lower, based on an independent assessment of the property.
Hazlett said letting the building close was not in the best interests of the town.
“It’s a very valuable piece of property,” Hazlett said. “This avoids this being a boarded up, grass-infested eyesore at the entrance to our town.”
The site is presently in possession of the town, but the town must maintain the property as a rest area.
“My original estimates were for janitorial services and lawn mowing,” Hazlett said. “What we found out is it takes a fair amount of staff to keep it open during the day for that purpose.”
Councilor Jenkins said he wished the board had been better informed on the price associated with maintaining the facility, as it might have changed how the group initially voted.
“We voted thinking this was going to be $6,000-$7,000 and now it’s considerably more,” he said. “Now it’s proposed at $62,000.”
Hazlett explained he was in talks with the group that operates the site, and would bring a proposal to the council at its next meeting on how they should proceed. One course of action could be asking tourism groups in the central and northern parts of Aroostook County to assist in the maintenance of the property.
Cleary pointed out that if the building were to close, the town could explore buying the property, since it was located in a prime commercial development area.
In other agenda items, the council:
• Approved Carl Lord Jr. to fill a vacancy on the town’s zoning board of appeals. Two other individuals — Marc Russell and Ken Hayes — expressed interest in the seat. Russell withdrew his name from the pool prior to the council meeting.
• Accepted the donation of a screen projector and coat rack from Richard Kelley.
• Accepted the resignation of Donald Collins from the town’s planning board.
• Agreed to authorize the use of up to $100,500 from the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Reserve Funds for the purpose of offsetting expenses in the 2012 budget. In so doing, the move helps reduce impact on the mill rate.
The council gathers again Monday, Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m. for a special meeting to evaluate the Board of Budget Review’s recommendations for the 2012 budget. The next regular council meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 6:30 p.m.