MINOT – Local dairy farmers, fearful that the results of the town’s recent property revaluation might signal big increases in their taxes, left Monday night’s selectmen’s meeting with renewed hope.

Roland Hemond, who has been a dairy farmer for 58 years, said that while he paid $21,000 in property taxes last year, he didn’t think he could afford the additional $10,000 or $12,000 he figures he easily might be facing.

“It doesn’t look good. It’ll have us dairy farmers going out of business; it might be what does it for me,” Hemond said.

John Hemond, Roland’s nephew, agreed the town had needed a revaluation but was shocked by the results. The assessing firm the town hired, John O’Donnell and Associates, determined his property was worth nearly $500,000, a 400 percent increase over its previous valuation.

Pointing out that the state has a Farm and Open Space Tax Law that can help farmers, provided they apply to the program before April 1 of any given year, John Hemond asked whether the town would give farmers a break this year by assessing farmland at the rate the state’s program allows.

Michael O’Donnell said the town can’t do that, but that he and selectmen had been doing some research and had found that if Hemond and others were currently participating in he state’s “Current Use” program, they can amend their existing applications and get the preferred tax rate this year.

“I can help you. The selectmen will help you,” said O’Donnell as he and his brother John proceeded to identify a number of ways to ameliorate the impact for a number of residents who detailed their predicament.

John O’Donnell noted that members of his firm had met for four days last week with townspeople seeking clarification of their valuations.

“We are still considering their input. There are some things we could make decisions on, but we are still working on much of the information we have been given,” said John O’Donnell.

Resident Mike Callahan asked selectmen what they were going to do with the “mess the loggers left at the Minot Consolidated School.”

Callahan asked selectmen to go to the school board and get them to remove the slash left from logging operations before children get hurt.

Selectmen agreed that the brush pile problem must be addressed before winter and agreed to send a letter to Superintendent Nina Schlikin telling her it needs to be cleaned up immediately and that she should inform selectmen of plans for the removal as soon as possible.

Meeting with Code Enforcement Officer Ken Pratt, selectmen learned that the Janette Bryer and Michael Hill cases have been turned over to the town’s attorney for action and that he would be sending Sharon Maheux a letter revoking her building permit for a property on Woodman Hill Road.

After a public hearing, selectmen voted to proceed with obtaining a $300,000 tax anticipation note to provide funding for operations of the town. Selectmen noted, as a result of the revaluation process, tax bills won’t be going out until Oct. 17, more than a month later than usual thus leaving the town a bit potentially short of funds.