Buckfield Board of Selectmen

Buckfield Town Office

May 2, 2017

Selectman resignation

What happened: Board Chairman Warren Wright and Selectman Maida DeMers-Dobson accepted the resignation of Selectman Michael Iveson with regret.

What it means: Iveson will resign Friday, June 30. He is on a leave of absence for a medical issue and should be able to attend the June meetings. Selectmen set a special election to coincide with the regular election Tuesday, June 13, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nomination papers for Iveson’s seat are available May 3 and are due back by Tuesday, May 16. Anyone who can only pick up or return nomination papers Saturday, Sunday and Monday when the Town Office is closed can call Town Manager Cindy Dunn at 207-336-2521 to make special arrangements.

What’s next: Whoever wins the special election will serve the remainder of Iveson’s term, which is until June 30, 2019.

Town manager search

What happened: Unhappy with the consulting firm results for the town manager search, selectmen voted to hold a special meeting next week to interview interim town manager candidates to find someone to serve as consultant only.

What it means: Town Manager Cindy Dunn announced in March she would resign as town manager when her contract expires June 30 but would remain on as town clerk. Dunn will reach out to Municipal Resources Inc. of Meredith, New Hampshire, Eaton Peabody Consulting Group of Augusta and KMA Human Resources Consulting of Falmouth to get bids for an independent consultant to help with the town manager search and analyze the current town government structure and give recommendations for the future. Instead of contracting with any of these firms, selectmen opted for Dunn to reach out to seven people interested in serving as interim town manager to see if they would serve as a consultant instead.

What’s next: Dunn will call the candidates today; a special selectmen meeting has been set for 10 a.m. Monday, May 8.

Promotion

What happened: Dunn announced she promoted interim Zadoc Long Free Library Director Katie Clukey to library director.

What it means: Clukey was the deputy library director and was named interim director after former library Director Bonnie Santos was fired by Dunn in January. Clukey, who has worked at the library since early 2014, has served as interim director for more than three months. Dunn said she’s “done an exceptional job” and her dedication to the library has resulted in positive changes over the past few months. DeMers-Dobson told Dunn she thought she should have advertised for the library director position. Dunn said the town’s employee handbook states if it’s practical, the town should promote from within.

What’s next: Dunn will advertise for the deputy director position within a couple of weeks.

Library renovation

What happened: Selectmen awarded the library interior renovation project to the low bidders.

What it means: The bids went to Robert Peer for the carpentry work for $10,350 and JNC Electric Inc. for $4,150. At their last meeting, selectmen tabled awarding the contract and directed Dunn to research what would happen to the library’s knob-and-tube wiring.

What’s next: Work inside the library will begin soon. It is partially paid through a grant from the Tabitha and Stephen King Foundation.

Assessing agent

What happened: Selectmen awarded the assessing agent contract to the lowest bidder, Wilson Hennessey Appraisal, offering $6,300.

What it means: At their last meeting, selectmen asked Dunn to check references for Wilson Hennessey and Curt E. Lebel. They bid as subcontractors for $6,300 and $8,850, respectively.

Foreclosure

What happened: Selectmen issued a quitclaim deed to the previous owner of a foreclosed property at 60 Depot St.

What it means: Dunn told selectmen the former owner, Lawrence Stanley, bought the property back for the selling price, which included all taxes owed, interest and costs. The town foreclosed on the property April 7 for an unpaid 2014-15 tax lien.

Reserve funds

What happened: At the recommendation of Dunn and the Budget Committee, selectmen established four reserve funds.

What it means: They created the Rescue Department Town’s Matching Share Grant Reserve Fund for $3,000; Buckfield-Damon Cemetery Lot Sales Reserve Fund with 50 percent of the lot sales to be deposited into the fund and the other 50 percent deposited in the existing Perpetual Care Trust; Small Community Grant Reserve Fund with $6,078; and Gibson Municipal Charitable Reserve for $10,000. The latter two are for residents who need financial assistance if their septic systems fail and could affect a nearby body of water, and for bona fide emergencies, respectively. 

BVC agreement

What happened: Selectmen tabled voting on the agreement between the town of Buckfield and the Buckfield Village Corp. for administrative services so DeMers-Dobson could review the agreement.

What’s next: Selectmen will address the agreement at their next meeting.

Budget meeting

What happened: Selectmen voted to set a special budget meeting to review the fiscal 2018 budget.

What it means: The meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 15. Selectmen will review the budget from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and the Budget Committee will join them at 10:30 a.m.

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