| Joanne Cole |
Norumbega Cidery of Woodman Road and Black Tie of Pineland Farms got their liquor licenses, new fees and cost-recovery measures proposed by Fire Rescue got approval, and a possible walking path connecting the Town Hall Complex and Church Road got an introduction at the Select Board’s June 5 meeting. Also introduced was new Town Planner Kathy Tombarelli, who previously served for several years as planner in Gray.
Through the three-hour meeting, the board took up a host of other matters as well. Among them were an offer from vendor Autotronics to supply a new Fire Rescue command vehicle—it will instead go out to bid—and revisiting whether Town departments should close on Monday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday. The board settled on an early closing that day, at 4 p.m.
Norumbega Cidery and Black Tie liquor licenses approved. Noah Fralich of Norumbega Cidery on Woodman Road returned to the board, having confirmed that the on-premises liquor license he’d requested—a “lounge” license for beer, wine and spirits—was in fact deemed appropriate by the State. Fralich has been serving his own Norumbega cider under a manufacturer’s license but wants to also offer beer and wine, in particular for a fall music festival.
Fralich also clarified that a new Maine law eliminates a requirement that ‘lounges’ serve food, something the board had been uncertain about. Once again, no residents opposed the license request. The board unanimously approved it.
Black Tie, events caterer at Pineland Farms, saw its liquor license renewed at the June 5 meeting with no opposition from residents or concerns from the board. Owner Amy Collins explained that Black Tie is Pineland’s exclusive caterer for weddings, corporate functions and special events in the Commons building, under the tent and in Pineland’s guest houses. “Keep up the good meals,” said board chair Paul Larrivee, recalling a special dinner he’d enjoyed under the tent.
Board nixes offer on Fire Rescue command vehicle. After discussion, the board decided to put Fire Rescue’s new command vehicle out to bid rather than accept an offer from Autotronics. Autotronics is supplying the town’s new ambulance and proposed September delivery of a fitted-out 2023 Ford Explorer at a cost of $61,828 after trade-in of Squad 1 for $13,500. Voters approved $60,000 for a command vehicle at May town meeting.
Interim Chief Craig Bouchard called Autotronics’ offer “a positive option,” given escalating prices and availability issues. Manager Bill Kerbin concurred in departing from the usual bid process, citing “extenuating circumstances” of rapidly rising costs. As precedent, Bouchard noted that the department’s utility vehicle was a no-bid purchase.
The board had recently bypassed the bid process to accept a paving offer, but not this time. Concerns over process and price figured in, along with questions about how much Squad 1 is worth as a trade-in. The board directed Bouchard to proceed with bids and get quotes on both the new vehicle and Squad 1’s value in trade. Bouchard will return to the board with an RFP.
Guidelines/fees approved for Fire Rescue. Fire Rescue had submitted draft guidelines to charge and recover fees for providing certain services. One was for standby coverage at non-municipal special events, like a bike race at Pineland. Fire Rescue would review requests and provide coverage on a case-by-case basis, Chief Craig Bouchard said, only if warranted and personnel and equipment allowed. There would be a two-hour minimum charge for staff and apparatus. Bouchard said he set the fees to break even, in hopes of encouraging organizers to hold a safer event. If there were a fire call, personnel and vehicles would be pulled from the event to respond. That emergency proviso will be added to the policy.
A cost recovery policy will authorize the town (or its billing service) to pursue insurers for costs incurred in responding to an incident. Traffic safety at accident scenes, vehicle extrications or fires, and cleaning up hazardous materials are among possibilities. Individuals would not be billed, Bouchard said, just insurers, and funds recouped would go into Fire Rescue reserves. The board approved.
“Village Path” discussed. Parks & Recreation Director Sarah Rodriguez shared the Parks & Rec Committee’s progress toward a possible walking path between the Town Hall Complex and Church Road across property of the First Congregational Church. Volunteers would cut and maintain the trail, to be known as “the Village Path,” and signs would be donated.
Rodriguez described the short path as “a small first step” in improving the walkability of the Lower Village, particularly in helping pedestrians avoid what she called the busy intersection of Route 231, Gloucester Hill Road and Cobbs Bridge Road. [Your correspondent notes that another two-car collision occurred there on June 9.]
Parks & Rec had provided a memorandum and sketch, as well as a letter from the Church in support. Liability coverage and ADA compliance were already being investigated, Rodriguez said, but did board members have other questions before planning goes farther?
They did: among them, what easement language would look like, whether and where hikers would park to access Royal River Conservation trails, whether dedicated ADA parking would be required, and how much use the path would actually see, given its location and modest length. Rodriguez said she would follow up about parking and other questions and that new Town Planner Kathy Tombarelli had experience with similar town-church easements for trails as town planner in Gray.
Tombarelli herself stepped to the mic to share her thoughts. She said Gray’s Village Area Loop Trail is being done in phases and each short segment has proven popular despite initial skepticism. Certain grants require ADA compliance, she said, but some towns also have non-ADA trails on town property. Tombarelli was confident that a model easement could be tweaked for New Gloucester. The small scale of the Village Path project and the two entities involved make it “a good opportunity,” she said. Rodriguez—and perhaps Planner Tombarelli—will return to the Board with further information.
Early closing July 3. July 4 falls on a Tuesday this year, and Manager Bill Kerbin asked the board to consider closing town departments on Monday July 3. July 3 was not on the list of holidays approved by the board, but Kerbin suggested it would be a nice gesture to town employees.
Board members settled on closing at 4 p.m. that day. The vote was 3-2, with Stephen Hathorne opposed to further curtailing town services during an already-short week and Dustin Ward favoring an all-day holiday for employee morale.
Outlet Road safety. A seasonal traffic safety ordinance drafted by Outlet Road residents failed to gain traction with the board. It proposed placing additional signs and temporary speed bumps during the summer. Board members were most concerned with the narrowing of the travel lane(s) when cars park along both sides of Outlet Road. Parking is a longer-term discussion, board members agreed. Nearer-term, Manager Bill Kerbin will look into temporary signs and confer about traffic safety with Outlet Road businesses Maschino Brothers and Outlet Beach, as well as the Shakers and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
DEI in public comment, updates. The Select Board recently decided to participate in an educational workshop on diversity, equity and inclusion. In public comment at this meeting, resident Beth Ellingson raised concerns over “the board’s direction with DEI.” While serving on the Ad Hoc DEI Committee, she’d found definitions and interpretations from DEI advocates, she said, that “actually reverse” civil rights and constitutional law principles like equal protection, including interpretations of ‘equity’ that push for “equality of outcomes under the law,” as in Cuba, China, North Korea and Vietnam. Impacts “in the name of equity” are affecting student athletic competition, academic standards and parental rights, she said. Ellingson also responded to board member Dustin Ward’s criticism of comments she’d made in a DEI meeting that were shared on social media, and urged the Select Board “to research the Marxist roots of Critical Race Theory which have hijacked virtuous principles of civil rights and DEI.”
During board member updates a short time later, Dustin Ward shared a reminder that June is LGBTQ Awareness and Pride Month and June 19 is Juneteenth. He called them important opportunities for communities who are marginalized “to celebrate and honor those communities and identities” and for others “to recognize these communities and support who they are.” Ward acknowledged that New Gloucester has had “some difficulties” “with how we react to these conversations and to these groups.” He expressed a hope that the month would see “care for everyone” and safe celebrations.
In his update, Manager Bill Kerbin also spoke of June being Pride Month and of the importance of Juneteenth, along with more-typical notes: the Library roof needs repairs, quotes are coming in for a Town Hall furnace and for painting at the Town Hall Complex, and the search for a Fire Rescue Chief is continuing, with hopes of having a chief in place by July 1.
Other business:
- Welcome! The board welcomed a suggestion from the Economic Development Committee to put a “Welcome to New Gloucester” sign at the Pineland end of town, although board members were not entirely convinced that visitors actually think Pineland is located in Gray, the initial impetus behind adding a sign. The new sign will await next year’s budgeting.
- Business directory. The Economic Development Committee is working on a New Gloucester business directory that should ultimately be hosted on the town website, the board agreed. (A previous outdated directory was removed from the town’s website.) The alternative was a link to a business directory on NGX. The NGX directory, an initiative led by NGX contributor Noreen Williams, can be accessed on NGXchange.org at this link.
- Fire suppression. The board decided that Manager Bill Kerbin should work with Fire Rescue and town staff to assess the location, condition and adequacy of the town’s water resources for fire suppression. Town committees have done some investigation in the past, but determining needs and gaps, as well as the critical question of how much water is “enough,” calls for professional expertise, the board thought. Planner Kathy Tombarelli suggested that the town’s zoning provisions around fire suppression should also be more explicit and prescriptive.
Long meeting = long recap. And yet there was even more. To watch video of the June 5, 2023, Select Board meeting, click here. Find Select Board agendas and related documents at this link.
