AUBURN – The County Commission authorized a transfer of $50,000 to pay for security upgrades at the Androscoggin County Courthouse Wednesday.

County Treasurer Robert Poulin requested that the $50,000 be transferred from the undedicated reserve account to the building repairs account. Transfers between accounts require commission approval. The vote was unanimous.

Poulin said after the meeting that the funding is needed to pay for a security door and other security upgrades at the courthouse.

In other business, the commission authorized the expenditure of $8,550 to Simpson and Sons Paving for repairs to the parking lot at the jail and the inner courtyard. The commission also approved the spending of $1,050 to Simpson and Sons for repairs to a drain.

Turner junkyard problem lingers

TURNER – In the spring, when Gene Jordan did not comply with the town’s latest cleanup order for his junkyard on the banks of the Nezinscot River, the town instituted court proceedings. The court ordered the cleanup to be largely completed by Nov. 30.

According to officials and neighbors, that may not happen and a contempt order would be lodged if it does not.

“You can still see at least 20 junk cars” when driving by, Town Manager Jim Catlin told selectmen.

Officials have discussed options with the town’s attorney and may consider condemnation proceedings. The town has more than $80,000 in liens against the property.

Apartment building sold to city

LEWISTON – The city will buy a 23-unit Canal Street apartment building to make way for part of the lower Lisbon Street redevelopment.

Councilors inked a deal to purchase the apartment building at 480-482 Canal St. from owner Ray Frechette Jr. for $735,000 plus another $108,000 in heating and relocation expenses and incentives to help current tenants move.

Frechette called the deal traumatic. The building has been in his family for 30 years and he would prefer not to sell.

“But the threat of eminent domain is very real, and I don’t want to go through that,” Frechette said. “I don’t want to sell it, but you do what you have to do when you don’t have a choice.”

Frechette said he currently has 18 tenants.

The sale is part of a plan to revitalize the block of buildings surrounded by Lisbon, Maple and Canal streets. The first phase began last month, with crews tearing down the old FHP Engine Building to make way for Oxford Networks headquarters.

The apartment building would come down as part of the next phase for a parking lot.

Fire station eyed for activity center

WOODSTOCK – The Recreation Committee got the go-ahead from selectmen Tuesday to begin converting the town’s old fire station on Railroad Street into a community recreation and activity center.

Recreation Committee Chairman John Fitzmorris presented a breakdown of the costs, which would total approximately $24,000.

“This is only a rough estimate and it’s possible that it will be lower after we get exact quotes on some of the materials. The figures in our plan are only estimates because we’re waiting to hear from several companies with exact quotes on the heating system, chimney, plumbing, electric and septic,” said Fitzmorris, “When those figures are in, we will have a more accurate total.”

He presented the estimated costs for each phase as follows: second-floor underlayment, $2136.70; plumbing, $2,909; septic system, $1,725; electrical work, $3,000; heat, $5,500; windows, $3,594; doors, $1,200; roof, $852.82; kitchen, $1,400; and interior finishing, $2,000.

SAD 17 addressing fourth-grade gaps

OXFORD – High school students in SAD 17 were much closer to the state average on test scores than fourth-graders in last year’s Maine Educational Assessment testing.

“It looks like our kids do worse in the fourth grade and by the 11th grade they catch up,” SAD 17 board member Mike Brown noted during a report on the 2002-03 scores by Curriculum Director Kathy Elkins.

Elkins confirmed Brown’s observation, and said the district has been busy revising fourth-grade curriculums to meet the challenge.

“They are not overly stellar scores,” Elkins said. When compared with three-year averages, however, the scores for fourth-, eighth- and 11th-graders are essentially the same, she added.

Starting in March, fourth-graders will be tested in fewer subject areas – reading, writing, math and sciences – so the state can focus on those areas in more depth, Elkins said.

Treatment plant fix-up under budget

WILTON – Two major pieces of equipment have been replaced at the town’s Waste Treatment Plant in nearly half the time projected, said the plant superintendent. Preliminary figures show that the project is about 10 percent under budget.

Plant Superintendent Russ Mathers said two rotating biological contractors were installed in 8.25 days rather than the 15 days that had been estimated.

The project was to replace old equipment with two new 22-foot shafts and media, a plastic material where microorganisms are housed to treat wastewater. Preliminary calculations, Mathers said, show that the project cost about $15,000 less than the $150,000 projected.

Each of the shafts weighs 3.5 tons, he said, and full of the plastic media and microorganisms, it weighs about 10 tons. Once the plastic is installed on the shafts, the wheel is about 10-feet in diameter.

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