Council prepares placement of Ward cabin, plans for winter and septic support

By Traci Storti Wilde
Special to the Pioneer Times
    HOULTON — Houlton residents will finally benefit from a new structure at Community Park, courtesy of Ward Log Homes and the town’s financial support.
    Councilors voted Monday to begin construction on a building donated by the locally-based home manufacturer. At the time of donation, bids proved cost prohibitive.
    Town Manager Doug Hazlett explained the situation. “Ward was very generous in donating this building to us a couple of years ago. We’ve never been able to move forward on putting it up. We had talked in prior Board of Budget meetings about using the reserve account, but frankly when we put out to bid the erection of the building, the prices came back totally unacceptable.”
    The cost for construction was originally estimated at $100,000.
    Councilor John Fitzpatrick actively solicited in-kind funding from local business to make the project’s implementation more tenable. The expenditure is expected to be half of the original projections.
    Other funding will come from the Community Development Housing Repair Program, a state grant program that began decades ago. The initiative offered homeowners money to help revitalize deteriorating properties. Owners were responsible for repayment to the municipality upon the sale of the home. The reserve account currently contains $68,000.
    The building will be used for storage and ADA accessible bathrooms, something the park is currently lacking. It will be located near the softball fiends and will be open during regular park hours and in conjunction with special activities.
    In other business, the Council approved the purchase of 18,290 tons of road salt. The budget includes $84,000 for this purpose, with $50,000 spent thus far.
    Like other operational expenses, road salt is also costing municipalities more this year.
    Hazlett informed the board that the price was up considerably from last year. Budgeting for 2009 must consider the reduction of salt usage or the increase in cost.
    Councilors accepted a grant of $14,000 from the 2008 Small Community Septic Grant Program and authorized the town manager to sign all related documents.
    The grant comes after some local residents expressed frustrations over their failure to receive affordable public support for essential services like sewer and water.
    While the amount seems large, councilors noted that the grant would only cover the purchase of one or two septic systems.
    Councilors approved other items, including:
• The appointments of Gerald Berthelette and Carl Lord, Jr. for three-year terms on the Board of Budget Review;
• A victualer’s license for Shamrock Café, owned by Gary and Lisa McGuire; and
• A renewal of liquor license for The Vault Restaurant, owned by Ralph and Miriam Zuraik.
    In the town manager’s report, Hazlett announced that a special Hazardous Waste Collection exercise is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6 at Pine Tree Waste on Florence Ave. While the effort is directed at common household chemicals like paints and motor oil, Hazlett reminded residents to dispose of pharmaceuticals at this time.
    “Putting these things into the water system is not good for the system; it’s very harmful for the environment,” explained Hazlett.
    Residents wishing to dispose of hazardous materials should pre-register by calling the Northern Maine Development Commission at 498-8736 by August 20th.
    Hazlett also advised citizens interested in volunteering for public office to call the town office. Several positions are available on the town council, SAD 29 Board of Directors, Board of Budget Review, library, and Houlton Water Company.
    During councilor remarks, Sue Tortello reminded the public to plan for Potato Feast Days, August 22nd and 23rd.
    The council then moved to executive session to discuss union contract negotiations.
    The next regularly scheduled town council meeting will be Monday, Aug. 25 at 6:30 p.m.