Jenkins named to council

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Michael Jenkins took the oath of office as the newest member of the Houlton Town Council, Nov. 22 in a unanimous vote following his nomination by Brian Donnelly which was seconded by Sue Tortello. The council also appointed him as a director of the Shiretown Development Corporation.
    Jenkins moves into those two positions following the resignation of Fred Grant who was elected to the SAD 29 school board in the Nov. 2 election.
    Prior to the Monday evening vote, Jenkins addressed the councilors and stated that he is a lifelong Houlton resident who has “followed community events over the years.” He also said he looks forward to “diving in and volunteering to make the community better and work within a budget that we’re going to need in these tough economic times.”
    The only other candidate to address the councilors before the vote was Phil Bernaiche who stated that he had “paid his dues” and had attended all but 17 meetings in 30 years. Bernaiche also said that he had put up signs to win a seat on the council for the Nov. 2 election. He came in third with 550 votes for a slot to fill one of two vacancies. Incumbent John Fitzpatrick led the pack of candidates with 1,451 votes followed by John White who was also elected with 1,201 votes. A distant fourth candidate, Matthew Carr, followed Bernaiche with 491 votes. 
    Saying he felt he was the best qualified person to fill Grant’s vacated seat, Bernaiche also stated that failure to appoint him to fill the post would be a form of discrimination based on his age or his credentials.     Carl Lord had lobbied on Bernaiche’s behalf before the two candidates spoke. Lord said he “would like to see the council pick someone who had gone the extra mile, the extra 10 miles” and had the ambition to put up signs for the recent election.
Other business
    Beaumont Generator, Inc. of East Millinocket was the only company to bid on replacing the fuel pump at Houlton International Airport. The Council accepted a bid of $21,777.92 which Town Manager Doug Hazlett said was available in the airport improvement account with no impact on the mil rate or on the budget.
    Hazlett also stated that the Bureau of Highway Safety had made grants to the Houlton Police Department of a new radar unit and $4,160 for OUI patrols and seatbelt enforcement details.
    Before going into executive session to discuss economic development matters, Hazlett briefly addressed issues facing the Board of Budget Review. Hazlett said for the first time since the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district was implemented in 2005, the town would use TIF funds to take pressure off the tax rate. “Expenses are seen to be less,” he said but the looming unknown is on the revenue side with state funds expected to be cut.
    Hazlett added that the first meeting of the Board of Budget Review is set for Monday,  Nov. 29. It will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. in Council Chambers at 21 Water St. The next meeting of the full council will be Monday, Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.