FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — With the impending departure of Walgreens in Fort Fairfield, town officials have a plan to give residents local access to necessary medications.
Fort Fairfield will lose its only Walgreens store and pharmacy on Feb. 23, Police Chief Matthew Cummings said at Wednesday’s town council meeting.
Cummings told councilors that he and Interim Town Manager Dan Foster have been in talks with the Fort Fairfield-based I Care Pharmacy.
Located on Main Street, I Care Pharmacy is operated by Terry Greenier and provides prescription dispensing, consultations, medication therapy management services, refill reminder calls and online prescription refills, according to its website.
The pharmacy is equipped to pick up Walgreens customers, accepts all insurance providers and makes prescription deliveries, Cummings said, adding there are also pick-up options at the pharmacy and a pharmacist on site.
Those services will be especially important for elderly residents who are unable to or not comfortable driving to Presque Isle or Caribou pharmacies, he said..
“When we heard the news [about Walgreens] we were concerned about our elderly residents,” Cummings said. “We are taking the issue seriously and trying to make sure the [Walgreens] building doesn’t stay vacant long.”
Store staff referred questions about the closure to the company’s corporate media office. Walgreens officials did not respond to requests for comment.
In other business, councilors unanimously approved a new public comment policy that Foster hopes will help include more residents in public discourse.
The policy establishes a public comment period of at least 30 minutes at the start of all regular town council meetings. Councilors could approve an extended comment period if they feel that the issue being discussed warrants more time.
But like in the past, residents will be discouraged from voicing complaints about specific town officials or trying to engage with them during the meetings, Foster said.
“I encourage anybody who has a specific question to contact me, but we will not be engaging with them at a meeting,” he said. “This is an issue that we’ve all had a problem with in the past.”
All speakers will have three minutes to make comments unless councilors vote to extend that time.
The new policy will only apply to regular town council meetings, not public hearings or special meetings, Foster said.
Councilors also heard updates from town departments.
In December, the town’s Fire & EMS department responded to 56 emergency medical service calls, 10 more than in November, Fire & EMS Chief Mike Jalbert said.
“So far in January we’ve already responded to 56 EMS calls, and there’s still more time in the month,” Jalbert said. “We’ve been keeping busy.”
The fire department responded to 18 fire calls in December, an increase from 11 in November. So far there have been eight fires in January.
Fire & EMS has recruited 22 volunteer firefighters since Jalbert became chief last fall.
“We’re still not exactly where we need to be, but we’re making progress,” Jalbert said. “Our volunteers receive weekly trainings, and the attendance for those has been amazing.”
Jalbert said that he has also made progress on decreasing expenses for the department.
After selling one of two new ambulances to Van Buren for $150,000, Fort Fairfield used those funds to purchase a used ambulance at no additional cost to the town.
Jalbert recently visited with a fire department from North Carolina who might want to purchase Fort Fairfield’s ladder truck. That department is waiting on a decision from their local government.
“Another department from Virginia might be interested in looking at the truck,” Jalbert said.
Cummings spoke on recent happenings within the police department.
Officers responded to 2,572 calls in 2022, including those concerning mental health issues, domestic violence, drug use and trafficking, theft, burglaries and traffic law enforcements.
Out of those total calls, 153 resulted in criminal charges against those involved, Cummings noted.
“That’s a significant number for a town of our size,” Cummings said.
Cummings also thanked numerous officers, firefighters and residents who assisted during the December 23 wind storm that took down trees and knocked out power.
As the police department became bombarded with calls for service, they realized that almost every major road into town was blocked with fallen trees. Cummings recalled the heroic actions of local firefighters.
“At 10 p.m. there was a downed tree on Limestone Road. We called the fire department because the Maine DOT [Department of Transportation] couldn’t come,” Cummings said. “Soon three firefighters came out of the back of an ambulance with a chainsaw.”
“That’s not something you see every day,” he said.
The next regular town council meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, in the council chambers, located at 18 Community Center Drive.
