Board: Sabattus selectmen

Met: April 15

Hose company to go public?

Issue: A petition to take municipal control of the privately-run Sabattus Fire Association will be placed on the May 31 annual meeting warrant.

The Scoop: Fire Department member Lori Cressey-Wood presented the petition to selectmen Tuesday night. The department is looking for more structure and consistency, Cressey-Wood said. It is unclear whether or not the current Fire Association would have to be dissolved before it could be melded with other municipal departments.

Up Next: Selectmen approved the petition’s inclusion into the warrant by a vote of 3-1, with Chairman Mark Duquette in opposition. He said he was unsure of the legality of such a decision, and would check with Maine Municipal Association. Town Manager Greg Gill was instructed to send a copy of the petition, as well as the town charter and the Fire Department’s bylaws to the MMA, as well.

Warning signs proposed

The Scoop: Park Street resident Adrian Roy is worried about his father-in-law, Robert Durgin, who is both deaf and legally blind but still likes to go for walks about the neighborhood. Roy queried selectmen about getting DOT signs posted to warn motorists of Durgin’s presence.

Up Next: Two signs, one each on Park and Phelan streets, likely would cost about $90, according to road foreman John Hyde. He added that a town crew would install the signs if Roy would pay for them.

Sweeping under way

The Scoop: Public Works crews have started sweeping up sand and picking up brush. Hyde suggested that residents leave piles of each at curbside for pickup.

Input wanted at rec meeting

The Scoop: Members of the town’s Recreation Committee have scheduled an informational meeting for 6:30 p.m. April 30. They want public input regarding which activities and events should be held this year.

Bring your plastic!

The Scoop: Residents soon will be able to use credit or debit cards to make payments at Town Hall. Selectmen signed a contract with Point & Pay, an electronic currency processing company, to handle plastic payment at no cost to the town. Users, however, will be charged a fee of 2.95 percent per transaction or $2, whichever is greater.

Water tested

The Scoop: Water tests conducted at the transfer station and in a Pleasant Hill neighborhood show that all three wells are within the federal government’s tolerance for arsenic contamination. The landfill test returned a .01 parts-per-billion level; anything below 10 parts per billion is considered safe for consumption. The Pleasant Hill wells returned a .18 parts per billion level, which led selectmen to conclude that the landfill is not affecting residential wells.

Animal care pact signed

The Scoop: Selectmen renewed a contract with the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society to house and care for critters impounded by the town’s animal control officers. The amount of the contract, $5,887.88, has not changed.

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