MINOT – Last week’s information meeting on warrant articles up for vote at Saturday’s town meeting produced a foretaste of the debate that may resurface on the town meeting floor.
“You’re just trying to scare the townspeople with that $400,000 figure to do Old Buckfield Road,” resident Steve Holbrook fired at selectmen.
“You ought to be scared. There are 14 roads in town that are in the same category. Approve (Old Buckfield Road), and we’ll be asked to open them all,” countered Dean Campbell, chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Two articles on this road issue have been placed on the warrant by selectmen in response to a petition effort headed by Hersey Hill Road resident George Buker. Those articles ask voters to accept the abandoned section of Old Buckfield Road between Brighton Hill and Hersey Hill roads, and to reconstruct it.
Selectmen estimate the total cost would be about $474,000 – $200,000 for legal expenses and land acquisition costs and $274,000 to construct the 3,374-foot road to town standards.
Buker questioned both figures. He said that, although the road has been abandoned, the town retains an easement, so there’s no need to purchase the land. Buker also said out that the road could be just a gravel road to start with.
The town Budget Committee is recommending against spending any money on the former Old Buckfield Road.
On another issue, Fire Chief Steve French presented his request for a $225,000 pumper/tanker firetruck. French noted that Tanker 4, which is more than 50 years old, was decommissioned last fall and converted into a sander by the Highway Department. He said he would like to replace Tanker 4 and Engine 1 which is 24 years old and has about reached its life span, with the pumper/tanker.
The pumper/tanker would be financed over a five-year period. The Budget Committee is recommending against a purchase at this time. Road Manager Arlan Saunders said his department’s request is about $39,000 less than last year. He said that was primarily the result of a reduction in the paving account. Saunders attributed this to an aggressive paving campaign. Roads intended for extensive rehab this summer include most of Garfield Road, Lower Road and Old Woodman Hill Road.
The school budget request is nearly $400,000 greater than what the State’s Essential Programs and Services model suggests would prove adequate services. “How can you justify it with the student numbers going down and the costs keep going up?” resident Becky Gould asked School Committee Chairwoman Colleen Quint.
While enrollment at the Minot Consolidated School is anticipated to decrease by 10 to 20 next fall, Quint said a $140,000 increase in the special education request and an $85,000 increase in secondary tuition costs are major contributors that are essentially beyond control.
“With all figured in, it’s about a one mill ($1 per $1,000 in property valuation) overall increase to local taxpayers,” Quint said. The town’s Budget Committee has recommended approval of the School Committee request with one exception. It doesn’t support spending $93,000 for a two-classroom modular addition at the elementary school.
The town’s proposed Comprehensive Plan was criticized for a stipulation which would see the town amending its land use ordinance so that, in the future, house lots in rural areas would have at least five acres.
Voting on the Comprehensive Plan takes place Friday. Polls will be open noon to 8 p.m. at the Town Office. Regular discussion and voting on town spending articles takes place Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m., in Minot Consolidated School.
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