Outdated ordinances, water problems plague town
By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

DIXFIELD – Selectmen should soon be addressing outdated town ordinances and policies, but whether they do it themselves or form a committee remains undecided.

At Monday night’s meeting, the board learned its private road design and construction ordinance was last updated in 1992. Among the other antiquated documents are the comprehensive plan (1988) and the assessing system.

When pressed about the many outdated ordinances, selectmen’s Chairman Hugh Daley said, “The Board of Selectmen just can’t do it all and that’s the reason why it’s in the shape that it’s in.”

Daley himself said the method the town uses to assess mobile homes for taxes is old and incorrect by today’s standards.

When the town did its last revaluation in 1991, mobile homes were only taxed at a quarter of their value, but neither Daley nor the board knew why.

“I think we just accepted it then,” he said.

The assessment issue came up when the board revisited a requested tax abatement by mobile home owners Robert and Kathi Knowles.

Although the board tabled the request for the second straight time in two weeks, Daley said the Knowles property was assessed properly, but it was overvalued.

In other business, Town Manager Nanci Allard believes the Public Works Department might be on to something after yet another attempt was made to try to alleviate coloration problems with the town water system.

At the past two board meetings, North Street residents Bentley Crosby, his neighbor Bobby McPhee and Charlie Blanche expressed their dissatisfaction with the water.

Crosby said that not only is the water pressure and quality bad, but several pieces of their clothing have been ruined.

Public Works Director David Orr said it would take $125,000 to completely fix the problem on North Street, but the water department, which owes the town $50,000 as of June 2003, doesn’t have the money.

And with only 600 users on the system, it will take awhile for that loan and future loans to be paid off.

To correctly resolve the North Street water problems, Orr said two weeks ago that the line would have to be replaced from Weld Street to the end of North Street, then loop it around to Kidder Avenue.

But, due to lack of funds, Orr tried a Band-Aid approach, putting a blow-off system in McPhee’s house on the dead-end one-inch water main at the end of the street. Each Friday, the system has been flushed and that seemed to work, Allard said Monday night.

North Street resident Charlotte Mesko said she only had bad water once in the last week after the flushing work. Another resident, however, saw no difference in her water.

“The water’s fickle,” Allard added. But she did say that the Friday flushings did help solve the colored water problems.

The problem, however, is that the same blow-off systems would have to be added to water mains on Coburn, Kidder and Robbins avenues, and Oak Lane, all of which share the same problems as North Street.

Allard also requested and got board approval to apply for a “substantial” grant to have a sidewalk constructed from Dirigo High School to the T.W. Kelly Dirigo Middle School up Weld Street.

Additionally, she will be seeking other grants from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to do necessary drainage and banking work along Severy Hill Road.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link