ISLAND FALLS, Maine — A change in leadership is under way for Island Falls as two newcomers beat out two incumbents for seats on the town’s board of selectmen.
Frank Porter and Tony Bowers were both successful in their bids to unseat Paige Colville and Dawn Merry on the board during the March 16 election. Colville has served as the chairman of the board for the past several years.
Island Falls Town Manager Dave Dionne, right, goes through the budget as Selectman Paige Colville looks on during Saturday’s annual Town Meeting. (Joseph Cyr)
Patty and Ronnie Hartin listen intently during Saturday’s annual town meeting in Island Falls. (Joseph Cyr)
Porter was the top vote-getter garnering 127 votes, while Bowers received 110 votes; Merry received 48 votes; Colville collected 37 votes; and Kevin Bearor received 22 votes.
For the RSU 50 school board, Laura Jones-Farnsworth was elected with 150 votes.
On Saturday, about 50 residents gathered for the annual town meeting, and spent nearly three hours debating warrant articles.
Municipal spending is up about 4 percent over last year, according to Town Manager Dave Dionne. Voters approved a total municipal budget of $969,516, which is an increase of $38,276.
The bulk of that increase is because the town wants to improve a number of roads in the community this spring and summer. Those roads include Cold Brook Road, Burleigh Street, Grant Road, David Street and the South Shore Road.
“One of the things we found out from last year is we can put down what we think it is going to cost [for projects] based on state figures,” explained Colville. “That doesn’t mean that figure is what the contractors are going to charge. We built in a little bit more money, and there are a couple of other small projects we need to finish, including culverts.”
Porter said he agreed that some of the roads were in bad shape, but asked if the selectmen had considered breaking the list of projects up and spreading them out over several years to help mitigate such a big increase in the road maintenance account.
John Schmidt looks over the Island Falls town report at Saturday’s annual town meeting. (Joseph Cyr)
“We are splitting them up,” selectman Jeff Brooks said. “We have picked the worst case scenarios for this year and next year there will be another set of roads.”
Brooks added that last year, all of the paving bids came in higher than expected. The roads committee has examined all of the town’s roads and uses a computer program to calculate which are the worst, based on volume of traffic.
The town’s recreation department also generated considerable discussion. The department was budgeted for $15,127, the same level as the previous year. Resident Fred Anderson questioned why the town needed to spend any money, since the recreation department was able to generate nearly $18,500 in revenue from various projects and fundraisers.
Rec Director Ruth Frazier explained that much of the revenue generated throughout the year was going toward a playground equipment fund to bring new pieces to the town park and to repair existing equipment.
An effort to slash the recreation budget to $13,500 failed to garner support and it was ultimately approved at the $15,127 level.
Voters also agreed with the town’s plan to purchase a new ambulance at a cost up to $175,000. The town has $32,865 in an ambulance reserve account and will take the remainder from its unassigned surplus.
