KINGFIELD ­— Selectmen agreed to seek volunteers to discuss the town’s future in SAD 58.

Recently, the town of Eustis formed a stand-alone district, leaving Philips, Avon, Strong, and Kingfield as members.

At the Monday night meeting, Selectman Mervin Wilson urged selectmen to form a committee to discuss whether the town’s voters might benefit from withdrawing from SAD 58 and joining another district.

Costs to fund the SAD 58 budget each year are based on each town’s property valuations. Kingfield has the fewer residents but higher property valuation than the town of Strong. Kingfield residents have protested to their selectmen that their town is paying more to the district, while Strong has petitioned the Department of Education to give them a larger percentage of future school board votes.

Currently, Phillips, Strong and Kingfield have two school board representatives and Avon has one. If Strong successfully adds one more school board member, according to board Chairman Heather Moody, Kingfield would be paying the largest share of the tax burden to support the school district, while having the smallest percentage of decision-making power.

The future of the district is uncertain at best, according to Selectman Wade Browne. “It is only going to go downhill, sooner or later,” he said.

Advertisement

Residents who are interested in being part of the committee should contact the town office.

In other news, selectmen reviewed changes and updates to its cemetery ordinance and dog control ordinance. Both ordinances will be presented for approval at the June 15 town meeting at the Kingfield Elementary School. Copies of both ordinances are available at the town office.

The dog control ordinance defines regulations based on state of Maine standards, including laws that prohibit dogs from running within the town limits without being on a leash. Disposal of dog waste is a continuing problem, and dog owners are subject to fines for the civil violation. The ordinance includes limits for barking or howling dogs, biting dogs and dogs that are impounded and destroyed.

The cemetery ordinance defines hours of operation, restricted activities, the cost of burial plots, opening and closing of graves, placement of headstones and rules for markers, adornments and the authority to remove items placed on grave sites. The ordinance will be administered and enforced by the administrative assistant or her designee.

Selectmen also agreed to appoint a cemetery sexton from a list of several candidates, but they will retain a list of qualified substitutes if the primary appointee is unavailable.

Selectman John Dill noted that the town streets and Little League field have been cleaned recently by volunteers. John Goldfrank recruited volunteers and collected a truckload of debris, as well, Dill noted. Other volunteers spent the weekend preparing for the baseball season.

“The Little League field is just transformed,” Moody said. “I hope people drive by to take a look and see what great work they did.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: