LISBON – Selectmen have decided to delegate the responsibility of studying and coming up with a recommendation for the future of local E911 dispatching to the Lisbon Community Police Action Group.
Under a Public Utilities Commission rule-making order concerning the emergency system, designed to minimize the number of public safety answering points throughout the state, towns have been given until July 1 to come up with a plan, said Town Manager Curtis Lunt.
Selectmen have previously said they prefer that the town continue taking its own E911 calls. There are now 48 answering points in the state, and in an effort to minimize costs, the state plans to cut that number.
Lisbon’s dispatch center handles less than five E911 calls a day now, the fifth lowest in the state, Lunt said. An alternative for the community, if it wants to continue E911 locally, would be to maintain it at the town’s expense, $50,000 a year, he added.
Following a dangerous-building hearing regarding a structure on 39 Village St., owned by Reggie Thiboutot, selectmen took no action. It was instead decided to table the issue until the March 1 meeting in order to allow the owner to consult with his attorney and for selectmen to visit the site again.
The building, which has not been lived in since 1990, is located next door to the fire station and has been boarded up by the town as a safety precaution.
In other business, it was voted to adopt the Androscoggin County Hazard Mitigation Plan as required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a special entertainment permit for Casa Mia Inc. was granted, and representatives of the Appeals Board attended the meeting to report and update selectmen on board activities.
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