MECHANIC FALLS — The Town Council on Monday gave Town Manager John Hawley the go-ahead to prepare an estimate for what the town might charge Regional School Unit 16 for removing snow at Elm Street School.

Hawley told the council that RSU 16 Superintendent Tina Meserve asked whether the public works departments in RSU 16’s three towns, Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland, could do the work.

Councilors said that before the regional district was formed, the individual towns took care of their schools and it seemed reasonable that they could again.

Mechanic Falls Public Works Director Scott Penney said they could probably do it provided they increase staff.

Hawley said Mechanic Falls Public Works downsized from four men to three and a half to save money but had determined that it wasn’t working out well, that there had been an increase in overtime.

RSU 16 School Committee member Jack Wiseman said now the custodial crews at the three elementary schools are plowing the snow with help from the transportation director. He said the district really didn’t have the sort of equipment to properly handle the amount of snow they were getting.

Hawley said it probably would be a savings for the district if the towns did the plowing rather than hire private contractors.

“We could do it at cost,” Hawley said.

Hawley said it would only happen if all three district towns took over plowing the schools in their towns.

After meeting with Bucknam Street resident Cathy Pressey to discuss drainage problems in her neighborhood, the council agreed to table any action until after the snow melts.

Pressey said a former public works director had filled in the ditches along her side of Bucknam Street, which caused problems for her and several of her neighbors. Pressey said she was especially concerned about what might happen this year, with all the snow.

Penney said he would be willing to restore the ditches but he wasn’t sure that was going to solve all of Pressey’s problems. He agreed that he and Hawley would keep an eye on it.

Reporting on developments in the ongoing dispute over what the county charter says regarding who has ultimate control over the budget, the county commissioners or the budget committee, Hawley said there had been an interesting twist.

Apparently there was some question over whether the county towns ever had copies of the proposed charter — and had them available for public inspection — before the charter was put to a vote.

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