County Commissioners OK fire agreement

CARIBOU, Maine — The Aroostook County Commissioners unanimously approved a fire protection agreement with the town of Oakfield for the unorganized townships of T7R3, T7R4 and T7R5 during their regular meeting Dec. 3 at the Caribou Courthouse.
County Commissioner Paul Underwood presented the article for approval and noted the memorandum for the agreement was dated July 1, 2014, but the delay was no fault of the county. Underwood explained that Oakfield officials were slow to respond to the request for the appropriate paperwork to be sent back, and the process actually took about four to five months before he was able to receive the necessary information electronically.
The next article on the agenda was the approval of property conveyance to Aroostook County, which entailed a property in Stockholm. Commissioner Underwood explained that this article represents a number of years of hard work on the part of a lot of individuals within county government and even goes back as far as Rep. John Martin’s tenure. Underwood explained that Martin was the one to get the ball rolling and allow the county to reach a lease agreement with an MDOT building in Stockholm on Route 161, which is now part of the fire department. Underwood explained that the property has now been paid for and they now have a sale and purchase agreement lined up.
The County Commissioners exercised their option under the lease agreement to purchase and take over the deed, and MDOT has prepared the purchase and sale agreement, which merely needed Underwood’s signature for finalization. The motion was approved unanimously.
Also on the agenda were a number of new appointments to the Sheriff’s Office, which were presented by Sheriff Darrell Crandall. The first of which was the promotion of MDEA officer Craig Holder from deputy to sergeant. Crandall explained that the purpose for this promotion was because arrangements had previously been made with MDEA that when Shawn Gillen transfers back to the Sheriff’s Office in January as Crandall’s Chief Deputy, Holder would in turn be promoted by MDEA. The article recommending Holder’s promotion was approved unanimously.
Next, was the promotion of Stewart Kennedy, of Oakfield, from part-time to full-time status with the Sheriff’s Office. Kennedy was most recently the only detective working for the Houlton Police Department. He had been a full-time police officer in Houlton for six years, and has a B.A. in criminal justice, and an extensive amount of training in the field. Kennedy also already works as a part-time deputy sheriff, and was the only part-time deputy interested in upgrading to full-time status. Kennedy is filling the vacant spot left by Shawn Van Tassel.
The recommendation made by Crandall was approved unanimously.
The next County Commissioners meeting will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. in Houlton.