Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — The last meeting of the Limestone Selectpeople on June 2 may have been short and simple, but the training requirements that Limestone Fire Chief Paul Durepo informed town officials about may be simple, but not short. The training is necessary for the town to be NIMS (National Incident Management System) compliant; town officials and employees will need to take online courses that range from 3 to 16 hours long; the number of courses required by each individual varies by position. According to the FEMA web page, NIMS “provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment.”
“We need to make sure that the Town of Limestone is compliant,” Chief Durepo expressed. “If we’re not compliant, then we will not be eligible for any state or federal grants — we’ll be shut off cold-turkey.”
The town is currently working to meet compliance requirements.
After a code enforcement update from the Limestone Code Enforcement Officer Rebecca McBreairty, the selectpeople approved the involvement of the town’s lawyer regarding a code violation where the owner refuses to cooperate.
McBreairty also informed the selectpeople and the community that there is a planning board meeting on Tuesday, June 15 to hear a land use permit application for US Cellular to erect a 250-foot telecommunications tower.
During her Manager’s Report, Donna Bernier informed the selectpeople and community members that the Town Reports are available at many community businesses and reminded individuals to vote in yesterday’s election and attend tonight’s Town Meeting at 6 p.m. She also briefly discussed the hot toping taking place on Trafton Avenue and thanked selectperson Wade McLaughlin for serving on the board. McLaughlin is not running for a second term.
During the Elected Official’s Reports, Selectperson Jim Leighton informed the board of the hot topping that the state Department of Transportation has planned for portions of Rout 89 and congratulated the Limestone Community Girls Softball team on an excellent season.
Selectperson McLaughlin informed the board of a letter he wrote regarding the comprehensive plan being written for Limestone which expressed his concern that the downtown are be expressed in copy, not only on a map.
Selectperson Chair Walt Elliott asked if follow-up had been done regarding the interest expressed this past fall in cleaning up Trafton Lake. Bernier informed him that without obtaining a grant, cleanup would be virtually impossible. Elliott also reminded the community about the Library open house and dedication scheduled to take place on June 28 amidst regular Fourth of July celebratory activities in the town.
The next meeting of the selectpeople is scheduled for June 16 at the municipal building in Limestone, where the board will convene with two newly elected selectpeople. The annual town meeting is tonight at the Limestone Community School.
