“I put the minimum number of items that you would all want to entertain on the warrant,” said Town Manager Fred Ventresco, “but there were some others we talked about. Two, for example, are for a police cruiser as well as a speeding sign.”
According to the town manager, the purchase of a new sand salt shed is among the more pressing issues for Limestone.
“One thing I want to mention is that there is a loan fund with only 1 percent (interest) if we want to tap that instead of purchasing the shed outright,” said Ventresco. “I understand it is probably better for us to just use the money we have instead of just paying interest, but sometimes it’s a good idea to have cash in the bank and take a low interest loan.”
“I think we have to go forth intending to build a new sand salt shed,” said Selectperson Melissa Devoe, “because the state is going to eventually require us to anyway. Then, we should get what we can from the state for reimbursement.”
Since construction on a salt shed would not take place until much later, Selectpeople decided to create an item asking the town if they agreed to set aside $18,000 for the engineering costs.
Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan brought up two possibilities for the retirement reimbursement: an additional police cruiser and a speeding sign.
“Having a back-up vehicle is definitely a good thing,” said Mahan, “especially in our situation. We ordered the new vehicle on August 28th, but I don’t expect to see that until late December or January. Plus, you have to consider the time it takes to equip the vehicle.”
Chief Mahan described the benefits of obtaining a digital sign, which would give drivers a visual indication of their speed.
“The signs have been in discussion since MSSM moved some dormitories down on Church street,” continued Mahan. “There are a lot of kids crossing that road. I’d at least suggest getting one sign. Since they’re mobile, you can hook it up in one spot for awhile and then move it to another location.”
Electronic speeding signs, according to Mahan, provide statistical data regarding the number of vehicles driving through town, the time of day they drove through town, their speeds, and they cost between $2,500 and $3,000 each.
“I was a kid once,” said Selectman Tom Albert, “If you threw up a sign that tells me how fast I’m going, I probably would’ve hit it at about 70 just to see it say that. I want to know the proactive side of the signs.”
“The good part about that sign,” said Mahan, “is that it records your speed and time of day. If we get several complaints around the same time of day and see the same times on the sign, then we know when to check out that area.”
Selectpeople decided to add the speeding sign to the warrant, and for the allocated funds to not exceed $3,000.
A 2-1 vote on the inclusion of a $1,000 used police cruiser in the warrant led to an emergency meeting on the following Friday, as there were not enough votes in place. Friday’s vote had four people in favor of the cruiser and only one opposed, solidifying its position in the upcoming town meeting.
“We got this money from the state as part of the retirement funds, so do the employees still pay Maine retirement?” Selectmen Fred Pelletier asked.
“Absolutely,” said Ventresco. “The employee pays a share out of their pay and the town pays a share. This year, our share is 8.9 percent of all that the town employee earns. So we have six people on State of Maine retirement right now, and out of every penny they earn, the town pays 8.9 percent. They also pay 7.5 percent. We both pay a share, and that share is not negotiable.”
