WEST PARIS — Selectmen voted Thursday to charge a fee to Charter Communications for the 150 cable subscribers it serves.
As a result, the town will receive about $9,000, Town Manager Wade Rainey said.
The board also heard from Larry Morin of Pike Industries who expressed his company’s dissatisfaction with the recent bidding process for Stearn’s Hill Road, when the bid was awarded to Bruce Manzer, the third-highest bidder.
“We have no problem with Manzer,” Morin said. “The town has the right to accept any bid. The town invited us to bid, we submitted the lowest bid and it was thrown out.”
Chairman Mike Grass asked Morin to “please keep bidding.” Morin responded by saying, “Obviously, we would love to keep bidding; we just want a shot at it.”
In response to a citizen’s request for signage indicating how to get out of town in the event of a catastrophic situation, Fire Chief Troy Billings said, “We can get people out if we have to.”
Selectmen Dale Piirainen offered his appreciation for the man’s concern for public safety, “but this isn’t necessary,” he said.
Billings also reported on a favorable report of a recent Insurance Service Office inspection of the Fire Department. ISO is an organization that provides statistical analysis on risk and reviews the fire prevention and fire suppression capabilities of communities. West Paris has improved since the last inspection several years ago, and “homeowners who had fire insurance as of last November should see a decrease in their rates,” Billings said.
He told the board that the department’s call volume is down. “We are working on mutual aid and are now automatic with Sumner and Woodstock, and the new texting program is working well.”
Under this system, all firefighters receive a text message alerting them of a situation. They can respond by letting the officer in charge know whether they are going to the scene or the station and how many there will be.
There was a brief discussion on changing meeting times and a reminder that the proposed Site Plan Review Ordinance is on the town’s website for citizens to read prior to voting on it in September.
The board also voted to sign a proclamation that West Paris supports Going Gold in September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
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