| Joanne Cole |
The Select Board on September 18 took up emergency repairs to Fire Rescue’s Engine 2, heard an update on the now-repealed Senior Property Tax Stabilization Program, and discussed a variety of public safety matters. And not least, a proclamation honoring the Gray-New Gloucester/Raymond Little League All-Stars’ outstanding season was unanimously approved.
In other action, the board declined to create an ad hoc committee to look into the committee appointment process. Instead they will continue their own policy review and revision. They also made appointments to several committees.
Emergency repairs to Fire Rescue Engine 2. A last-minute item for emergency repairs to Fire Rescue’s Engine 2 was approved by the board. The culprit is glazed cylinders, likely a result of protracted idling, Fire Rescue Chief Craig Bouchard said. The urgency is that Engine 2 is “a frontline piece of equipment,” going to accident scenes and carrying extrication tools, where it is often on standby for long periods.
Because Engine 2 is not scheduled to be replaced until 2032, board members concluded there was little alternative to a rebuild. The good news is that parts should be available, Bouchard said, and according to Public Works Director Ted Shane, it’s “a great engine.” The quote for the work is $36,841; add to that an idle-up for higher-RPMs during wait time.
The only issue was where to find the money quickly – that is, without calling a special town meeting. The answer: ARPA funds. Board members thought $47,000 in ARPA funds remained after $230,000 was committed at the May Town Meeting for Town Hall upgrades, Fairgrounds bathrooms, broadband and sign reflectors. Assuming the ARPA balance is sufficient and can be used for this purpose, the engine repair will go forward.
In other Fire Rescue action, the board approved proposed bid documents for Fire Rescue’s command vehicle, deleting a chassis-only bid option that they had previously requested be included. $60,000 was budgeted for the purchase. Bids will be due October 2.
Safety concerns; Public Safety Advisory Group. Earlier this year, the board disbanded the Public Safety Committee, instead creating a Public Safety Advisory Group consisting of Manager Bill Kerbin, Fire Rescue Chief Craig Bouchard, Public Works Director Ted Shane and some number of residents. The group has not yet formed or met, and Colleen Strickler was asking that its workings “be as public as possible”–scheduled and public, with agendas and minutes, with residents serving in the group, perhaps some from the prior town safety committee.
Although board members agreed that the advisory group should include residents, there was no consensus on who or how many, nor on whether residents should be standing appointees or come and go depending on the issue. Rather, board members looked to Kerbin to establish the group, with the Fire Rescue Chief and Public Works Director as the core, and a game plan to address the public safety concerns of the community.
Returning to the ‘public’ aspect of the new public safety group, Strickler asked, “How do we ensure that the core group is addressing concerns that the public has?” There was no board directive that advisory group meetings be public; instead, the answer seemed to be for concerned residents to come to the podium.
Earlier, residents Julie Fralich and Debra Smith had done just that, sharing recent public safety activities by the volunteer group BLING (Building Livability in New Gloucester). Its community survey and listening session revealed speeding cars as a high-priority concern of residents. BLING’s “Getting Around” subgroup is now implementing a first-in-Maine “pace car” traffic-calming program, Fralich said. Participating drivers pledge to obey the posted speed limit and to share the road with walkers and cyclists, among other steps.
BLING volunteers are also collecting local speed data they’ll share with the board, and which will support another safety initiative: Vision Zero. The ‘vision’ is zero deaths from traffic crashes. Locally, the Greater Portland Council of Governments is leading the work, and New Gloucester and Gray are among 12 participating communities. Federal grants will support local projects. Nearer-term, Fralich hoped the new town budget will include funds for more radar speed signs. Research shows the signs work, she said, especially to slow ‘super speeders’ going twenty or more over the limit.
Debra Smith, from the BLING “Getting Around” group, shared MDOT traffic and crash data for New Gloucester. Highlights: over 3,000 vehicles and bikes pass through the Lower Village intersection daily, and nearly 10,000 vehicles on Route 100 by Gloucester Hill Road. There have been 370 crashes in New Gloucester between 2021 and 2023, according to MDOT data, including on the Turnpike and Routes 100 and 26 as well as on local roads, Smith said.
Regarding the Lower Village, Smith urged the board to request a report and safety recommendations prepared by MDOT traffic engineer Randy Illian in 2019. Three years on, the Town has still not requested the report, Smith said, adding that she hopes the board will also invite MDOT’s Illian for public Q&A.
Board members agreed that Manager Bill Kerbin should request the MDOT report. they also raised questions about the Route 100-Route 231-Bald Hill Road intersection in the Upper Village, site of many collisions. Board members thought the State underdelivered on promised safety, visibility and traffic-calming measures there several years ago. Kerbin will investigate and said he will “see whether the data takes us” in terms of other areas of town needing safety attention.
One such area is Outlet Road. The board has been concerned about parking along the roadsides in summer and pedestrians in a narrowed travel lane. Kerbin said he, Code Enforcement Officer Rick Haas and Public Works Director Ted Shane met with the owners of Outlet Beach and Maschino Sand and Gravel to discuss the road and parking, but no representative of the Shakers was present. Larrivee will reach out to the Shakers and urge them to contact Manager Kerbin about meeting.
Senior Property Tax Stabilization: “One and done.” Mike O’Donnell, the Town’s assessor’s agent, updated the board on the repeal of the Senior Property Tax Stabilization program and alternatives remaining available for property tax relief.
The short-lived stabilization program was enacted last year and repealed this year. “The government giveth and the government taketh away,” said O’Donnell. This particular tax relief program “was not well thought through,” in his view. It allowed residents over 65 who have had a ‘homestead’ (permanent principal residence) in Maine for 10 years to freeze their property taxes at the prior year’s rate.
Because New Gloucester’s tax rate increased for FY24, 320 households applied and qualified and received a tax reduction, O’Donnell said, worth a total of $55,011, or an average of $172 per household. The Town can apply to the state for reimbursement in January.
The senior tax stabilization program may be gone, but other avenues for property tax relief remain open. Although not popular in New Gloucester, O’Donnell said, the state’s Property Tax Deferral program is an option. Residents over 65 who meet specified income and asset limits can defer paying property taxes until the property is sold or becomes part of an estate. There’s also the Property Tax Fairness Credit, based on income and one’s state tax return. Hardship abatements are also a possibility, O’Donnell said.
Finally, there’s the homestead exemption, easy to apply for at Town Hall, that exempts a portion of a home’s value from taxation. O’Donnell said legislators proposed increasing the amount exempted to offset the loss of the stabilization program, but none of those bills passed. $22,500 of value will be exempt in New Gloucester this year.
Board and committee appointment process; new appointments. Member Colleen Strickler suggested establishing an ad hoc committee to develop recommendations for making appointments to town boards and committees. As interest in serving has grown, so has concern within the board and community about the lack of a consistent approach and clear criteria for appointments, leading a prior Select Board to begin a comprehensive review.
The revision effort has proceeded in fits and starts, through two years and changes in the Select Board’s membership, to the present. Meanwhile, the board has continued to make appointments, each time seemingly triggering fresh concerns. Their most recent action—an interim appointment to the MSAD 15 school board—was no exception. Board members gave preference to the applicant not already serving on a committee, Adam Copp, over Connie Justice who was.
The board’s approach drew objections from residents Laura Jane Sturgis and Kathleen Potter at this meeting. Sturgis and Potter argued that school board is an elected position, not a typical town committee, and appointments should be approached differently, including with interviews. Sturgis noted that she herself had been appointed to committees without objection while also serving on school board. The board’s ‘multiple committees’ factor has also led residents to resign from one or more other committees to improve their chances of being appointed to the one they most preferred.
“We can fix it,” said Chair Paul Larrivee of the board’s appointments policy. “One more workshop and we’ve got it done.” Gesturing at the podium, a skeptical Strickler asked, “And then when we put it on the agenda, we’re good?” She said, “Do you all get the same emails about people that are frustrated?” Member Dustin Ward said, “They stand here and say it. They’ve been vocal. We’ve heard it. For two years.”
“If we have people who think they can come up with a plan…” ventured Strickler. Vice Chair Tammy Donovan said, “I have no interest in that. That’s our job.” Member Stephen Hathorne agreed. “If we can’t solve our own problems, we certainly can’t expect the outside to form a committee and have them solve it,” he said.
Larrivee said the board’s revision will explain in detail how the process is going to work, so that when applicants come to the meeting, they’ll know what to expect. “It’ll be my legacy,“ he joked, then more seriously, “We’re going to get this fixed. We will.”
Most problematic for the board have been appointments/reappointments when the number of applicants exceeds open seats and the tension between wanting to add new voices and honor past service. That wasn’t an issue at the September 18 meeting, but whether to waive the residency requirement was.
Kyla Viger, a Gray resident, was the sole applicant for an opening on the Environmental Resources Committee, following Noreen Williams’ resignation. In her application, Viger said she is passionate about climate change and has been active in the Gray-New Gloucester community, including with the local Scout troop, and sat in on a recent ERC meeting.
Stephen Hathorne said Viger would be an automatic appointment for him if she were from New Gloucester. “I want people from New Gloucester representing me,” Hathorne said, “and I don’t want – I’m sorry to say this – foreign influences governing my town, even though it is just a mile or two down the road.”
Others agreed that seats should be ‘New Gloucester residents first,’ but there were no residents applying for this opening. Gray is a ‘sibling’ town and Viger is qualified and interested was the prevailing sentiment. She was appointed 4-1 (Hathorne). Also appointed were Connie Justice to the Land Management Planning Committee and Doug Smith and Alana Jones to the Semiquincentennial Committee, with Jones also appointed to the Community Fair Committee.
Bids in to paint/stain Town Hall Complex buildings. Public Works Director Ted Shane will review the bids in detail and return with a recommendation, but Pescinsky Painting of Tilton, New Hampshire, appeared to be the likely awardee to paint and stain the five buildings at the Town Hall Complex. Of three bidders, Pescinsky at $69,900 was the only one under the $95,000 budgeted for the work. Clarke Painting of Westbrook had a price of $98,000 and PC Construction of Portland was at $145,000. Five contractors came for a look at the work, Shane said; three bid.
As always, there was much more. View the September 18, 2023, Select Board meeting video at this link. Find Select Board information and links to agendas, documents and minutes at this link.
— Editor’s note: The budget for the Town Hall Complex Paint/Stain project is $95,000, not $75,000, as originally reported.
