NEW GLOUCESTER – Selectmen on Monday bid farewell to Town Manager Rosemary Kulow, who will leave her post Sept. 19.

Three board members attending Monday’s regular meeting each thanked Kulow for her efforts. The board’s two newest members, Pamela Slye and Nat Berry, said they had looked forward to working with “Rosie” in the future, and her departure came as a surprise.

“I looked forward to working with you. This has not really been long enough; too short,” Slye said.

Berry thanked Kulow for her service to the town and said he hoped to keep in touch with her.

Kulow, who has served New Gloucester for five years, resigned abruptly in mid-August with a written statement to the board.

Absent at Monday’s meeting were Selectmen Steve Libby and board Chairwoman Lenora Conger, who had a death in her family.

The board received four bids to paint the town’s library. Selectmen said the proposals, which ranged from $8,900 to $18,590, would be reviewed by staff with a recommendation for action at the board’s Sept. 22 meeting.

In other business, Public Works Director Ted Shane got the green light to offer three surplus property items for sale by bid.

These included a 2000 Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck with a 9-foot switch plow; a homemade truck-mounted bush hog that does not work; and a 1976 Pac-More compactor trailer.

A long-range planning workshop for New Gloucester is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27. All town boards and departments will participate in the effort to develop a townwide plan to guide the municipality.

State Rep. Michael A. Vaughan of Durham told the board that Route 231 to the blinking light at Route 100 will be paved beginning this week. He said he will meet with Maine Department of Transportation personnel regarding a safety issue at a railroad crossing on the Morse Road.