Board: Minot selectmen

Met: Monday night

Brighton Hill Acres

The issue: Developer Gary McFarland’s request for building permits to construct houses in the Brighton Hill Acres subdivision.

The scoop: Selectmen set conditions that McFarland must meet before they will release building permits: Complete fine grading of the road base for Pleasant Drive, have the base coat of paving applied; provide selectmen with an engineer’s report certifying that the road has been constructed according to specifications in the town’s road ordinance; and place in escrow $21,000 for the final paving coat for Pleasant Drive with the stipulation that the final coat be laid down next summer.

Water filter system

The issue: Test results on water from the well that serves the Minot Consolidated School show arsenic levels at between 11 and 15 parts per billion, exceeding the 10 parts per billion allowed for public drinking water.

The scoop: Selectmen told Road Manager Arlan Saunders that he should use a portion of the $31,000 approved at June’s special town meeting to construct an addition to the town garage to house the filtration system. Selectman Steve French, who oversees operation of the well, noted that a down payment has been made to secure the purchase of the filtration system, in order to have it operational in time for the start of the new school year.

Town cemeteries

The scoop: Town Administrator Rhonda Irish announced that last Thursday the town formally acquired 16.41 acres next to the Center Hill Cemetery for expansion. Selectman Eda Tripp reported that the deeds for the Center Hill Cemetery and the Riverside Cemetery, with their endowment funds, will be in town hands soon.

Up next: The cemetery committee has completed a first draft of a town cemetery ordinance and will meet again in the fall to review the ordinance and prepare a fee schedule. The ordinance and fee schedule will be presented for voter approval at March town meeting.

Village Wood Estates

The scoop: Selectmen extended until July 14 developer Lloyd Poland’s deadline for his complete application to turn a portion of the Grand Trunk Railroad bed in West Minot into an access road for his Village Wood Estates Subdivision. That gives Poland and his engineer time to address all the board’s concerns.

Road report

The scoop: Road Manager Arlan Saunders reported paving will begin in two weeks. Millett Road and Star Drive have been readied for paving and East Oxford Road will be worked on next week. Saunders also said he intends to mow the sides of town roads twice this year, once in another week or so and then again in October.

– Winslow Durgin