Monday’s Select Board meeting will answer the question New Gloucester kids asked last year on Halloween: “Do we get to do this again next year?”
The ‘this’ is trick-or-treating in a traffic-free Lower Village. The board will discuss whether to close the roads again this year.
Also at the October 21 meeting, the board will open bids for the contract to design the bathroom facilities for the Fairgrounds. The working concept is for an addition to the existing pavilion near the playground (pp.5-13 in the meeting agenda packet).
The board will consider capital requests for FY26 to send along to the Capital Improvement Program Committee (CIP) for detailed review and prioritizing. The requests, from Public Works, Code Enforcement, Fire Rescue, Parks and Rec, the Transfer Station and the Town itself, include vehicles, equipment, deposits into departments’ long-term reserves, and paving, among other items. Find the full list at pp.22-80.
Currently, the CIP Committee reviews any capital request valued at $15,000 or more. The board will discuss raising the dollar threshold for CIP review items.
Also on the agenda:
– discussion of whether to hold a public meeting to hear from residents of dirt roads about possible future enhancements of the town’s gravel roads;
– whether to commission a study of the impact on the Town when the Pineland TIF expires in several years. The TIF can fund certain qualifying municipal improvements and expenses, instead of taxation;
– clarifying for budgeting cost-of-living increases versus merit raises for town employees; and
– a request from Flying Goat Farm for a formal letter of support from the Town, an element of the Farm’s application for a state/federal grant for an electric delivery vehicle.
Find the full October 21, 2024, agenda at this link.
Public comments may be submitted by email before 10 a.m. on Monday, October 21, to townmanager@newgloucester.com and smyers@newgloucester.com. If you want your written comment read aloud, please indicate that in the subject line.
Find contact information for Select Board members and links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents at this link.
— Joanne Cole
