Seeks voters’ blessing on position
LIMESTONE, Maine — Selectpeople recently approved the warrant for a special Limestone town meeting in which residents will decide whether or not to appropriate town funds to a new part-time economic and community development position, and make upgrades to the town website and public access television channel.
The special town meeting was set to take place on April 13, 2016 at 6:30 p.m., but selectpeople later decided to cancel the date and reschedule since the decision to hold the special town meeting would have fallen a few hours short of the seven-day notice requirement.
According to Town Manager Fred Ventresco, there is a small chance that some items on the warrant may change, but these alterations are not likely.
Limestone’s Board of Selectpeople will discuss a firm date for the special town meeting during their upcoming budget meeting on April 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal building.
Aside from choosing a moderator, Limestone residents will vote on three funding issues during the special meeting.
The first item, which sparked some controversy among selectpeople, will be to appropriate economic development funds to create a new position. According to the warrant, this money will be “used as the Town’s share of a joint effort with the Limestone Development Foundation to hire or contract a part-time economic and community development person.”
Ideally, the new staff member will promote Limestone and attract more businesses to the community while maintaining those that already exist within the town.
The LDF has agreed to commit $10,000 for this position and selectpeople are suggesting matching that number by withdrawing from the Economic and Community Development account, which currently stands at $31,923.
The next item also involves withdrawing from the aforementioned account and, if approved, will improve the software used for the town’s website. Selectpeople recommend appropriating $3,000 for the software, which will prevent the frequent crashes now experienced by the site. It is hoped the upgrade will also allow for easier access with smartphones and mobile devices.
The last article on the warrant is to invest in upgrades to the Public Access Channel, which not only records public board meetings, but also broadcasts public service announcements on cable TV Channel 16 in Limestone. Selectpeople recommend appropriating $2,000 from the Cable Franchise Fees to accomplish this.
