Board: Sabattus selectmen

Met: Jan. 8

Office savings

The scoop: Police Chief Thomas Fales wants to lease a multifunctional printer system that he said could save his department $2,500 by eliminating some printers and reducing materials costs. Board members tabled the issue until their next meeting. In the interim, they asked Fales to get at least two more bids.

Rough winter

The scoop: There are problems with one of the Public Works trucks, according to DPW director John Hyde. The transmission is slipping and the plow, which is not strong enough, is twisted and bent.

Up next: The transmission is less than a year old and its repair should fall under the factory warranty, Hyde said. He also will look for prices on a commercial-strength plow to replace the spindled wreck, and will bring the results to the board’s next meeting.

Selectman Bill Henshaw, joined by the rest of the board, commended Hyde and the DPW workers for doing “a great job” clearing roads so far this winter.

Energy audit

Issue: The central fire station is notoriously expensive to heat. Since before winter began, town officials have wanted an energy audit performed at the fire house to find out why, and where, it is energy inefficient and how it can be fixed. The problem, according to Town Manager Greg Gill, has been finding someone to do the audit.

Up next: It took six weeks for Gill to locate a qualified commercial energy auditor; getting two more estimates to satisfy the town’s minimum-of-three-bids policy would be next to impossible, he said. Once the auditor provides an estimate, Gill will bring it back to the board.

Recycling contract

The scoop: Board members unanimously approved a three-year recycling contract with Commercial Paving & Recycling Co. of Scarborough. The agreement charges $50 per ton of demolition wood waste hauled away, as well as $38 per ton of glass and porcelain. Also Jan. 8, selectmen approved a brochure detailing changes made to the town’s recycling policy.

For municipal news items, contact JT Leonard at 252-6040 or at [email protected].