Board:  Minot  selectmen
Met: Tuesday

Central office taxes

Issue: Should Minot pay property taxes to Poland on School Union 29’s central office building?

The scoop: Selectman Dean Campbell called news that Minot will be billed for property taxes on the Union 29 central office building “bizarre” and the board questioned whether the town is obliged to pay $1,628 – its share of the $7,644 bill. Town Administrator Rhonda Irish noted that when the office was built on Route 26, some were concerned that Poland would be losing tax revenue from valuable commercial land and a clause, calling for payment of property taxes, was written into a contract with Union 29.

Fire pond design

Issue: The fire pond along Summit Drive in the new Verrill Homestead subdivision was not built according to plan. The steeply-sloped banks pose a safety problem.
The scoop: Selectmen ordered that the issuance of new building permits be stopped and occupancy permits for the two houses already permitted be withheld until problems with the pond have been fixed.

Board: Mechanic Falls school
Committee
Met: Tuesday

School consolidation

The scoop: Superintendent Dennis Duquette reported that the Union 29/SAD 15 reorganization planning committee met last week to form work committees and set out a schedule for developing a school consolidation plan for the towns of Gray, New Gloucester, Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland. The goal is to submit a plan by Dec. 1; with the plan, once approved by state officials, to be voted on by residents in the five towns after Jan. 15.
Up next: The full five-town committee will next meet on Oct. 16 at the Gray/New Gloucester Middle School.

Health insurance costs

Issue: Soaring health insurance costs more than wipe out salary increases for school support staff and bus drivers.
The scoop: The school committee voted in favor of a plan whereby the school department and support staff and bus drivers will split 50/50 future increases in premiums.

School year start-up

The scoop: Elm Street School Principal Mary Martin reported staff and students have gotten the year off to a fine start. She noted that educational officials have found that the school is making progress in making goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act, with students in all grades performing well on MEA tests.
— By Winslow Durgin