Buckfield Board of Selectmen

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019

BUCKFIELD — These actions were taken by the Buckfield Board of Selectmen on Tuesday:

Facility Use Policy
What happened: After some wordsmithing, selectmen passed the Municipal Building & Facility Policy with amendments.

What it means: There will no charge or deposit for town-sponsored and nonprofit groups to use town facilities. For-profit groups will be charged $30 per event plus a $30 deposit. Selectmen also added that groups would be responsible for any damages to the building “exceeding the $30 deposit.”

What’s next: Roach will tweak the Facility Use Application & Agreement form to match the newly adopted policy and bring it back to selectmen at a future meeting.

Winter sand bid
What happened: After postponing action at their last meeting, selectmen awarded the winter sand bid.

What it means: Selectmen voted to award the winter sand bid to W.A. Lucas of Sumner in an amount not to exceed $24,375, which was what was budgeted at June town meeting. The Lucas bid was for $9.75 per yard for sand piled outside. The other bid came in from K.R. Youland & Son of Turner, which was $9.50 per yard for sand piled outside but had more smaller particles that could blow off the road. Roach recommended Lucas because of the slightly better gradation report.

What’s next: No bids came in for the sand and salt shed project after the Aug. 27 deadline, Roach said, and he will work with the engineer to rebid the project.

Education Exploration
What happened: After hearing a report about the findings of the ad hoc Education Exploration Committee from member Sandra Fickett, selectmen dissolved the committee and created a liaison position.

What it means: Fickett and committee members worked with and gathered information for RSU 10’s superintendent, Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner administration and the community. She noted that the town gets more than its bang for the buck with the number of students the town has and the amount the town pays for its portion of the school budget and the number of local students
getting their education outside RSU 10 and the students outside the district attending RSU 10 are basically a wash. The liaison position will help keep the lines of communication open between town and school officials and the community.

What’s next: Fickett will finalize an electronic and paper survey for community members to share their input and concerns and bring it back to selectmen.

Meetings adjusted
What happened: Selectmen adjusted a number of fall meetings because of a Maine Municipal Association convention and set workshops.

What it means: A public hearing on an automobile graveyard is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, with the regular select board meeting to follow. A public hearing on referendum voting is at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 8, with the rescheduled select board meeting to follow. A public hearing on cable TV franchise agreement is at 6 p.m., with the rescheduled select board meeting to follow. A public hearing on medical and adult use marijuana is at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 5, with the regular select board meeting to follow. A cable TV workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 19, with the regular select board meeting to follow. A personnel policy review workshop is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, with the regularly scheduled select board meeting to follow.

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