MINOT — Selectmen on Monday approved a bid for winter sand and voted to increase the agent fee for registering motor vehicles to $5.

Peter Hemond Excavation of Minot submitted the lowest of four bids for winter sand at $8.10 per cubic yard delivered.

Other offers were $5 per cubic yard undelivered by ECI Materials of South Paris; $8.50 per cubic yard delivered by KR Youland & Son of Turner, and $11.50 per cubic yard delivered by CH Stevenson of Wayne.

The board voted to increase the motor vehicle agent fee from the current $3 to $5, the maximum allowed under state statute. The new registration fee will increase by $2, from $4 to $6.

Selectmen approved a Highway Department request to send notices reminding all residents that it’s against the law to plow snow into or across roadways because it creates a hazard and potentially damages roads.

It was announced that paving on Millett and Cross roads is expected to begin this week.

In other business, selectmen learned the promoter of the music festival at Hemond’s MX & Offroad Park this past weekend violated the terms of an agreement on start and stop times.

Selectman Brittany Hemond, operations manager for the park on Woodman Hill Road, apologized for any inconvenience to neighbors from noise. She said the business is working to ensure it does not happen again.

The matter may be taken up at the next Planning Board meeting Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m.

In another matter, the board set the following goals for 2020 budget deliberations:

• Reduce the number of warrant articles by consolidating town departments’ articles where practicable. The contributing cost centers would still be listed under the article for transparency and residents could vote to increase or decrease the amount. The hope is to make the process more efficient so more people attend town meeting;
• Investigate potential cost savings by moving services in-house rather than outsourcing;
• Investigate establishing a capital reserve account for major equipment purchases;
• Have the town administrator investigate and recommend potential salary increases to maintain competitive positions in the marketplace and investigate strategies to increase benefits while being mindful of cost-saving opportunities; and
• Strive for a budget with no increase where possible, but no more than a 2% increase across the board.

It was announced that the Fire Department is investigating a 50/50 matching grant for forestry equipment through the Volunteer Fire Assistance Program. The maximum amount per applicant is $5,000. A single fire department serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 or less is eligible. Application deadline is Nov. 15.

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