FARMINGTON — The Board of Selectmen accepted a $1,500 grant from the Healthy Community Coalition for the Farmington Police Department on Tuesday.

Half the amount will be used to enforce underage-drinking laws, Police Chief Jack Peck said. The other half will be used to purchase Fatal Vision Glasses, which qare goggles that simulate what it’s like to have a blood-alcohol level of .05, .08 and .25 percent, he said. While wearing the goggles, officers ask the person to walk the line and connect their finger tip to their nose, he said.

The legal limit for blood-alcohol level in Maine is .08 percent.

Peck said the glasses will be used to educate students.

The department is borrowing a pair to use Saturday for demonstrations at the Foothills Fest, sponsored by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, at Farmington Fairgrounds, he said.

In other business, selectmen scheduled a public hearing on whether the former Falls General Store, damaged by fire in April, should be considered an abandoned building or a dangerous building, according to state law.

Cleanup of the property at 176 Croswell Road in Farmington Falls has stalled over an insurance issue, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

The board set the hearing for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26 during their regular meeting.

As an abandoned building, the town may require owners Daniel Searles and Lori Berry to correct any defects within 30 days of notification. 

During the hearing, selectmen will consider whether the building is structurally unsafe, unsuitable for occupancy or dangerous. If they determine it’s a nuisance or dangerous, they may determine on how to dispose of it.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

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