LIMESTONE, Maine — The Limestone Selectpeople met on Wednesday, Nov. 19 for their regular town meeting.
The board began by announcing the resignation dates of both Town Manager Donna Bernier and Office Clerk Vicki Page. Page’s resignation date was Nov. 21, while Bernier is set to step down on Dec. 19. The town held a special luncheon for Page on Thursday, which was held at the town office.
Board chair Tom Devoe thanked both Bernier and Page for their hard work and dedication they displayed during their time as town employees.
During the manager’s report, Bernier explained to the board that the town has been looking into the option of leasing a street cleaner from Northland JCB, which is a company based in Lewiston. Bernier received a quote from JCB and reported to the board that the street cleaner itself could be leased for $1,300 per month, however, a blower attachment would cost an extra $400 and a plow attachment would cost another $300. To purchase the machine it would cost approximately $67,000, Bernier added.
Mike Cote, of the town’s highway department, added his input and expertise on the subject by explaining that these machines are very high maintenance.
“The town of Caribou purchased a new street cleaner a few years ago and it cost them approximately $100,000, so it’s going to be expensive no matter what way the town decides to go,” said Cote. “A refurbished machine is still going to cost between $30,000-40,000.”
There was also some discussion about the use of the machine on the town’s sidewalks, which can be problematic if the machine doesn’t fit correctly on the sidewalk.
“This machine is designed to fit four-foot sidewalks,” said Cote. “You don’t want to be slipping off the curb constantly and breaking something on the machine, so the width is important.”
The town’s sidewalks vary between four feet through much of the town, while sidewalks in the downtown area are five feet wide. Cote and the board seemed confident that this machine would fit on the sidewalks, but the board hopes to do some type of test with a similar machine before making the decision to lease the street cleaner from JCB.
Bernier also reported that the town would need to make a decision on who to hire to attach the Christmas lights on the town’s telephone poles before the town’s Christmas tree lighting on Saturday, Nov. 29. Bernier explained that the town had not previously budgeted for this expense, but due to the urgency and short time left before the Christmas tree lighting, they would need to make a decision sooner than later. She informed the board members that she hoped the money could be allocated from the town’s streetlight account.
The board made the decision to hire R.L. Todd of Caribou to prepare the weatherproof conduits on the 20 telephone poles designated for Christmas lights. These lights will be fixed in a way that will allow them to stay on all day and night, as of mid-December.
During the elected official’s report, the recently elected candidate Gary O’Neal expressed his happiness about being back on the board for another term, and he thanked Melissa Devoe, who ran against him for staying in the race, and that he hoped she would continue to run in the future.
Devoe, who was in attendance at the meeting, informed O’Neal that she would continue to run for election to the board.
Board member, Tom Albert also thanked Bernier for her service to the town as its manager, and added that she has gone above and beyond numerous times, and with Dec. 19 still a few weeks away, she’s still not done doing so.
The board also took the time to schedule meetings for both the town’s recreation department board and the Trafton Lake Committee. The initial meeting date for both meetings will be on Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the town office. The two boards will meet at the same time in order to save on heating costs. During both those Thursday, Dec. 4 meetings, the board members will decide on a regular meeting date that works for everyone involved.
The next regular board of selectpeople meeting will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the town office.
