DIXFIELD – Selectmen agreed on Monday to have the town become an interested party in a possible dispute over a will that provided a trust fund for abandoned cats.
Board Chairman Eugene Skibitsky said the action will help move along the probate process.
“There’s nothing to be liable for,” he said.
At the board’s last meeting, selectmen held off on a decision until the town’s lawyer, Geoff Cummings, outlined what, if anything, the town would be responsible for if it should become an interested party.
Skibitsky said that when the probate court rules on the matter, the town’s obligation will end.
Becoming an interested party means questions can be asked about how a trust fund will be set up.
In the will of Barbara Thorpe, who died nearly three years ago, a provision called for setting up a trust fund to care for and feed abandoned or unwanted cats in Dixfield. Nothing has happened since her death, and a number of people in town want to find out why.
Hugh Daley, a former selectman and interested party, thanked the board for its action.
“This is important. (There should) be a lot left for the town to take care of our animals,” he said.
Skibitsky said that if questions arise during the probate process, the town will remain neutral.
Also on Monday, the board voted to table an proposal by Peter Holman, a descendant of a founding family of the town, that the town accept the Holman Homestead, on the Common Road, as a municipal property.
The board wants to see the offer in writing and learn what, if any, conditions apply to accepting the property before taking action. It also wants to learn what the town’s potential responsibilities would be, such as compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In other matters:
• Dixfield Police Chief Richard Pickett said patrols on the road will be doubled when Dirigo High School seniors graduate on June 10.
• Selectmen tabled action on the purchase of a new police cruiser until the full board is present.
• Skibitsky said 22 people have applied for the position of town manager. Current Town Manager Nanci Allard leaves on June 2.
• Selectmen agreed to look into who has responsibility for a bridge at the end of Coburn Avenue that apparently is unsafe. The bridge crosses into neighboring Mexico.
• Three nominations for Distinguished Citizen of the Year were received. The chosen person will be named at the May 23 meeting.
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