Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — After two very important meetings last week of the Limestone Planning Board and a special meeting of the Limestone Selectpeople. The selectpeople will converge this evening for a regularly scheduled meeting. On Aug. 25, David Wiley attended a meeting of the Limestone planning board to discuss possible CDBG grant money that could be made available to the town of Limestone. Wiley has written grants for the town before; his work with the Limestone Water and Sewer Department resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being awarded to the town. Paying Wiley to write grants for the town once more is an option that will be discussed in the next Selectpeople meeting.
On Aug. 26, the selectpeople gathered for a special meeting to discuss the purchase of a new groomer. Many individuals of the Limestone Snow Hawks attended the meeting, vocalizing their opinion regarding which snowmobile trail-groomer purchase, considering that it is the volunteer hours of the Snow Hawk members that keep Limestone’s trails operational.
While most had a different opinion pertaining to which trail groomer the town chose, the Snow Hawk members in attendance agreed they wanted a two-track machine.
In order to stay within the budget, funds which were obtained by a $112,000 grant through the vU.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the reserve set-aside by the town for this specific expense, and fundraising done by the Snow Hawks.
There was lengthy discussion on which groomer would suit the needs of the town best, and there was even a suggestion made by Selectperson Jim Leighton that the town hire additional personnel to drive the groomer. At the conclusion of the special meeting, it was decided that, while all parties needed to expend additional time researching the topic, the town would strongly consider the purchase of a John Deer or a PreNorth.
The Limestone Selectpeople will meet tonight at 6:30; both of the previously mentioned topics will be discussed during the meeting.
Town manager Donna Bernier has suggested that she will be discussing the grant writing of Wiley in her manager’s report, and Leighton is scheduled to discuss his research regarding the two machines.
Also on the agenda tonight is the review of the budget committee by laws with changes by the budget committee, the reviewing of a request to bid for town vehicle maintenance, the award of a bid for loader tiers, and the reviewing of a rough draft of the ‘comprehensive plan.’
The selectpeople will also discuss setting the mil rate and the certificate of assessment to the municipal treasurer as well as appoint members to the Board of Appeals.
