Board: Mechanic Falls Town Council

Met: Monday night

Dispatch consolidation

Issue: Should all of Androscoggin Country be served by a single emergency dispatch center?

The scoop: Believing the committee trying to come up with a workable plan for a single countywide emergency dispatch center has deadlocked, the council directed Town Manager John Hawley to write a letter to county commissioners telling them to shut down the dispatch consolidation committee immediately and follow the call that has come out of Turner and Leeds for two dispatch centers, one for the cities of Auburn and Lewiston and the other for the remaining county towns.

Town owns church

The scoop: Trustees of the Congregational Church at 64 Elm St. have signed a deed giving ownership of the property to the town. Plans are for the Mechanic Falls Historical Society to manage the property, using the upstairs for storage and display of local artifacts and the downstairs hall, outfitted with a kitchen for public suppers, for community activities. Finding the copy of the deed proved difficult, but eventually researchers located the original 1840s deed in Cumberland County archives.

Up next: Trustees and town officials also signed an agreement that stipulates that if a day comes when the town no longer wants the property, it is to be sold and the proceeds given to nonprofit charitable causes.

Disaster reimbursement

The scoop: Hawley announced that the town will soon receive a check for about $38,000 from federal officials to reimburse the town for extraordinary expenses associated with the ice and snowstorms last December.

Radio grant

The scoop: Hawley announced the town has received a grant from the Maine Emergency Management Agency to buy radios that have analogue and digital capabilities. Hawley estimated the grant to be worth between $3,500 and $4,000.

Code enforcement

The scoop: The council approved adjusting code enforcement fees for applicants seeking to present their projects to the Planning Board. Fees of between $75 and $125 will be charged to allow action at two meetings. All expenses associated with notifying abutters of proposed projects will be billed directly to the developer. These expenses had been borne by the town at a cost of about $5 per abutter, Hawley said.

Up next: Changes in the code enforcement fees are effective April 1.

– Winslow Durgin