NEWRY — Selectmen will meet with Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7, in the town office to learn statistics about past and current county police coverage in Newry.

Then, at 6 p.m. a special town meeting will be held in the town office to discuss and vote on proposed changes to the town’s subdivision and building code ordinances to better shape future planning.

Administrator Loretta Powers said Friday evening that selectmen met with Gallant at Bethel’s Nov. 23 meeting, during which the sheriff presented a proposal to provide county police coverage for both Bethel and Newry should Bethel disband its Police Department.

“Where Bethel is looking into contracting with the county, Bethel would like Newry to go into it with them on a deal,” Powers said. “But this is all very new, so we’ll just hear what he has to say.”

Both Oxford County deputies and Maine State Police troopers provide law enforcement coverage currently in Newry.

Powers said that at that Nov. 23 meeting, Newry selectmen asked Sheriff Gallant to attend their Dec. 7 meeting and bring information about the type, frequency and dates of county police calls to Newry.

Newry officials began seeking police coverage information after a Powder Ridge resident complained about numerous burglaries last month in the residential subdivision.

Also on Monday’s board agenda are Jeff Stern with information about a Sunday River Watershed project near the Black Bear Inn, and a businessman with a proposal to computerize Newry municipal maps into a geographical information system.

Residents attending the special town meeting at 6 p.m. will vote on an ordinance amending the Unified Development Review Ordinance and an ordinance to amend the building code ordinance. Both amendments better define each existing ordinance and include new language about sprinkler systems.

The building code amendment also ensures that the construction and installation of chimneys, fireplaces, vents and solid fuel-burning appliances comply with national fire protection regulations.

It also significantly increases the fines for violating any provision of the building code ordinance.

Additionally, new language is included to specifically address appeals, which can be taken to the Board of Appeals by an aggrieved party from any decision of the building inspector, except for enforcement-related matters.

New specific dimensional requirements are also included in an appendix for all lots, structures and uses.

Powers said a new section on fire suppression and residential life safety is proposed for the UDRO under Section 13.

That amendment states that all subdivisions created on or after its effective date must either:

• Install within each dwelling unit the appropriate National Fire Protection Association 13 sprinkler system, whether the dwelling unit is built by the subdivider or others.

• Install a 40,000-gallon cistern with appropriate hydrant constructed as described in the ordinance.

• Install a fire pond, containing a minimum of 75,000 gallons of water with 40,000 gallons usable annually in storage as certified by a registered Maine licensed professional hydrologist or licensed professional engineer, with an appropriate hydrant as built per ordinance instructions.

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