FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — The town of Fort Fairfield is joining the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce as a member community, in addition to moving ahead with several projects.
Fort Fairfield town councilors followed the recommendation of Town Manager Andrea Powers to vote to join the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce during their Feb. 20 council meeting.
“I found that being active in the chamber of commerce is an effective business strategy overall with an increase in consumer favorability, awareness, reputation and future growth,” Powers said in her recommendation. Becoming a member community will cost the town $1,800 for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
The town of Fort Fairfield also has an economic development board and organizes and hosts the annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival.
The Town Council also authorized two projects related to public safety at the recent meeting
In one project, the Fort Fairfield Police Department will participate in a state pilot program joining the Maine Department of Public Safety’s digital communications system.
Currently, the town’s police and fire departments use relatively outdated communications technology that is limited in mobility and can be weak in certain geographic areas, Fort Fairfield Police Chief Shawn Newell said.
“My officers have zero portable communications when we’re out of the vehicle. The only time we can call for backup is when we’re in our cruisers,” Newell told the councilors. “The PD is pretty much one step above a soup can and a string.”
Under the pilot program, the town will use a system that connects with the Maine Department of Public Safety’s Regional Communications Center in Houlton.
“We will be a trial to see if the state will allow other police and fire departments,” said Fort Fairfield Fire Chief Vince Baldwin. This will “allow the dispatch center to communicate directly with our fire and police departments. This would increase our communications and our safety on emergency scenes.”
The councilors also approved moving ahead with a design from B.R. Smith for a new generator and an electrical upgrade at the public safety center and community center. The project would provide an upgrade from 400 amp to 600 amp electrical service as well as for the backup propane generator.
The goal of the upgrade is to prevent the public safety department from losing power for extended periods of time and to provide backup power to the town’s community center, which can serve as an emergency shelter.
While neither the communications nor electrical projects have finalized costs, the council authorized money for them to come from a general fund account containing about $538,000.
Also at the February meeting, the councilors voted to approve the Public Works Department’s plan to purchase a used trackless sidewalk plow with $15,000. One of the town’s John Deere tractor plows recently had its four wheel drive fail, Powers said.
“We think it is time to put the John Deere out to bid and purchase a new trackless while keeping our old trackless, which is still in good shape, for backup plowing and summer patching,” Powers said.
