The Rangeley Board of Selectmen got together for their annual Tax Commitment meeting.  Matt Caldwell, Assessor agent for RJD Appraisal, provided the Selectmen with current tax information.  The increase in Town of Rangeley valuation from last year is $8,217,700.00.  The Franklin County tax increased $15,257.00, the RLRS School Budget increase is $52,194.00 and the Municipal Budget increase is $149,457.00.  The Tax Increment Finance Plan (TIF) account will receive $68,803.12 in tax revenue that would have been used pre-TIF to pay Town expenses thereby lowering taxes.

The Selectmen voted to set the FY22-FY23 mill rate at $15.06 per $1,000.00 of property valuation which is an increase of $0.23 from the current mill rate of $14.83.

The Selectmen met for their regularly scheduled meeting on July 18, 2022.  They authorized the Town Manager to submit a grant application to the Boating Facilities Fund overseen by Maine Bureau of Parks and Land.  The grant would cover 33% of the estimated $61,000.00 cost for design work on two Town owned boat launches.  One boat launch site is located on Rangeley Lake at the Fish Screen in Oquossoc.  The other site is at Haines Landing in Oquossoc and provides access to Mooselookmeguntic Lake.  Once the design work is completed other grants can be applied for to help with construction costs.  No dredging costs can be covered under these grants.

Ann Ladd and Alice Smith were re-appointed to the Cemetery Committee.  A vote on the appointment of Nancy Douglas to the Ordinance Committee was tabled until the next meeting so that it can be confirmed that a vacancy exists.

A representative from Daigle and Houghton zoomed into the meeting to answer questions the Selectmen had about $5,800.00 in surcharges on a new truck the Town ordered last year.  Daigle and Houghton was awarded the contract for a new dump body plow truck based on a competitive bid process conducted last fall.  The Selectmen and the Town’s attorney will review the sales contract for the new truck to determine if the addition of surcharges are appropriate.

The replacement of Fire Engine #3, which was approved at Town Meeting, was an agenda item.  Chief Michael Bacon and representatives from the Allegient Company provided information on a new truck.  Allegient has a truck that they have been Dyno testing at their facility.  A new motor would be put into the chassis and the model year and the start of all warranties will be 2022.  The cost of the truck will be $638,137.00.

The Town received three responses to their Request for Proposals (RFP) for Lease-Purchase finance options to pay for the new truck.  The cost of the truck combined with the finance costs totals less than $750,000.00 which was a requirement of the approved Warrant Article.  The Selectmen voted to authorize the Town Manager to move ahead with both the truck purchase and the Lease-Purchase Agreement.

The Selectmen reviewed the first reading of Personnel Policy updates that include the addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday and the offering of Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MEPERS) benefits to full time employees.

An attorney representing the previous owner of the property located at 35 Hotel Road attended the meeting via Zoom.  The Town legally foreclosed on this property and now owns it.  The Board voted to have the Town’s attorney work on an agreement that would allow the previous owner a one year opportunity to purchase the property with no additional costs to the Town of Rangeley.

Rangeley has approximately $72,000.00 in American Rescue Plan Act money.  The Selectmen would like to receive public input suggesting ideas on how this money could be well spent.  Contact the Town Office or your Selectmen with suggestions.

The Loon Lake Road is scheduled to be paved with the final top coat of asphalt in early August.  Route 4 will receive a skim coat overlay of pavement this summer.  Main Street will be included in this paving which will be from curb to curb.  There will be two days when no on-street parking will be allowed.  The Town will work with all of the effected entities to try and minimize disruptions.

The next Board of Selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:00pm on August 1st.

“A democracy is healthiest when the public is informed about the activities of leaders of industry and occupants of public office.” -Melvin Melcher

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