Houlton’s sign ordinance revised
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Budget issues dominated discussions over spending up to $6,000 for an energy audit of municipal properties when the Houlton Town Council met Monday evening. The councilors weighed issues of cash outlay for Honeywell International’s engineering fees related to the audit and debt service to pay for improvements based on the audit’s recommendations. The $6,000 fee would be waived if the town proceeds with Honeywell’s energy-saving recommendations.
Town Manager Douglas Hazlett pointed out that the recommendations from the audit must show an actual savings to the town and be “budget neutral.” He also said recommendations would only be included in the report if retrofitting expenses could be recovered within seven years. Jeff Clark, representing Honeywell at the meeting, said the audit could save the town future capital costs by specifying inefficiencies that could be remedied. The unanimous vote authorized Hazlett to sign a letter of intent with Honeywell International regarding the retrofit project.
Political signs
A new town ordinance may have resolved the issue of placement of political campaign signs that has dogged the council recently. In response to Philip Bernaiche, who asked how this became such an issue, Chairman Paul Cleary and Councilor John Fitzpatrick responded that the council was making it legal to place signs in public areas which had not been the case. Bernaiche also said he would like to see signage permitted in the area of Walmart and Ludlow Road because of the visibility to the public. But, due to the fact that it is private land, it was not included in the new ordinance.
Hazlett said, in light of a recent challenge, the town became aware the town’s zoning ordinance was in conflict with the state statute and now has to allow placement of political signs in public areas. Previously, the town ordinance had not been enforced when signs were illegally placed in public areas. Attorney Dan Nelson said one objective of the new law was to prevent placement of signs in front of a house against the property owner’s wishes. After much discussion about legal expense for drafting the ordinance, enforcement and amendments, the council voted unanimously to pass the new ordinance allowing placement of political campaign signs in public areas. The areas that now allow placement of political signs where it had been illegal are: Union Square, Market Square, Monument Park and Pierce Park.
Other business: The council voted unanimously on the following:
The police chief may represent the town in district court; the town manager may apply for financial assistance for the snowmobile trail fund without town matching funds; ratification of the union contract. Hazlett encouraged people to attend the police internet safety course at 6:30 p.m. December 2 at Southside school. Sue Tortello reminded people of the craft fair at the Gentle Memorial Building, Friday and Saturday, November 28-29, sponsored by the Houlton Parks and Recreation Department. She and Cleary encouraged residents to attend the Holiday Light Parade on Saturday evening. They both wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and Cleary reminded everyone of the next evening’s budget review session.
