MONTICELLO, Maine — Sunday sales of malt liquor and wine are now legal in Monticello after residents overwhelmingly approved the change during a July 8 municipal election.
By a vote of 63 in favor and 10 opposed, the measure allows stores in the community to sell beer and wine on Sundays if they have a license to do so. The town was one of the few remaining communities in Aroostook County that did not allow alcohol sales
Monticello has just one store — Beals’ Country Store — which has some tables for people to dine-in, but patrons will not be able to consume alcoholic beverages on the premises.
Incumbent Terry Wade was re-elected to the board of selectmen, while newcomer Jimmy Burpee was also voted in. Both were elected to three-year terms and were the only candidates listed on the ballot.
Jeannie Tapley was also re-elected to a three-year term on the RSU 29 school board.
During the annual town meeting, held Wednesday evening at the Monticello Fire Department, only 21 residents turned out to vote on municipal items in a meeting that lasted just under 18 minutes. The 17-minute, 40-second meeting was a record for the town, Town Manager Ginger Pryor said.
Attendance was sparse for the annual Monticello town meeting, with just 21 residents in attendance. The meeting lasted just under 18 minutes. (Joseph Cyr)
At $761,446, the newly approved budget represents an increase of $117,400. Pryor said the increases were attributed to a $40,000 rise in the amount of money put into the town’s Building Fund for a new town garage; $43,000 for an annual payment on a new plow truck; a $12,000 increase in fire protection for new equipment for firefighters; and a $7,500 increase in the administration account to help with planning the town’s 175th birthday in 2021.
Pryor said the newly-approved spending plan, coupled with the RSU 29 budget approved in June, will likely result in a “slight” increase to the town’s property tax rate. That rate is currently 17 mills.
Residents posed no questions on the municipal budget, instead opting to approve 53 individual warrant articles under one single motion.
