| Joanne Cole |
If the choice was trick or treat, the Select Board went with “treat” at their meeting on Monday, voting to close roads in the Lower Village for three hours on Halloween.
In other action at the October 21 meeting, the board opened the lone bid for design work for the Fairgrounds bathroom project, took a first look at capital requests for FY26, and made a plan to make a plan for the town’s dirt roads, among other topics.
Lower Village roads to close for Halloween. Roads will be closed in the Lower Village for safe and spirited Halloween trick-or-treating again this year, the Select Board decided Monday.
Parks & Recreation Director Sarah Rodriguez, who spearheaded and coordinated the closure last year, told the board that community response was “really positive.” Several board members echoed the point, including those who’d experienced the block party feel of the Village last year. The vote to approve the closure plan went 4-1 (Hathorne opposed).
The Halloween closure will again run from 5 to 8 pm. Traffic into the Lower Village will be blocked at Church Road, Grange Hall Road and near 327 Intervale Road (roughly the top of the hill above the Library). Flagging at Memorial School and the ballfield near the tracks in the Intervale will allow vehicles safer turnarounds toward alternate routes.
Closure signs will go up in advance and postcards go out to notify residents in the affected area, Rodriguez said.
Setback for Fairgrounds bathroom project. The Town received only one bid for the contract to prepare full design/construction documents for permanent bathrooms at the Fairgrounds, and that bid was significantly higher than anticipated.
After some debate about whether to open the lone envelope or instead go straight to a re-bid, the board agreed to see the bid. And got bad news: a price of $38,850 from Harriman Associates in Auburn. Harriman had had a running start and familiarity with the project after doing conceptual drawings for the envisioned work: an addition to the existing pavilion.
The expected cost for the detailed design drawings was in the $7,000 to $10,000 range, Parks and Rec Director Sarah Rodriguez told the board. Adding to the urgency, the board anticipated using $75,000 in ARPA funds for the project. And all ARPA money must be committed or contracted (not simply earmarked) by December 31. The contract for the project septic work has already been awarded.
Rodriguez and Manager Bill Kerbin will consider options and report back at the next meeting.
Capital requests forwarded to CIP Committee. The board had some 22 capital requests from departments for the FY26 budget year on the table for review. Requests were for vehicles, equipment, deposits into departments’ long-term reserves, and paving/chip seal, among other items.
After discussion sharing preliminary takes on each request—“This one seems low” and “Why not buy used?”—the board forwarded all but one to the Capital Improvement Program Committee (CIP) for their review and prioritization.
The sole item spiked was Fire Rescue’s renewed request for $21,000 for a boat, motor and trailer for water rescues. It appeared to founder on the grounds that Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is nearby and/or ‘someone will have a boat.’
Other items that members raised preliminary objections to were voted forward on the principle of ‘letting the process be the process.’ The board will get another, definitive look after the CIP Committee makes its rankings and recommendations.
Dirt roads to get a closer look. The board directed Manager Bill Kerbin to develop a list of the town’s dirt roads with data about their condition, how much is spent on each road for maintenance – and when, the status of its culverts/washouts and more.
The board’s goal appeared to be a schedule for dirt roads along the lines of Public Works’ annual paving schedule. The paving schedule lists which paved roads are next in line for fresh paving or chip seal, along with estimated costs for budgeting.
The board considered but declined for now to convene a public meeting to hear dirt road residents’ observations and preferences regarding paving/not paving their roads. A first step is getting an overview of what the Town has and does for dirt roads, they decided.
Roads getting airtime at the October 21 meeting included Pond Road, Weymouth Road, Jack Hall Road, Ayer Road, due to residents’ complaints and/or washouts – and Woodman Road. Woodman Road resident Michael Lang spoke during public comment to question both the condition of the road, calling it a rumble strip, and the specific grading approach used on it.
Flying Goat Farm gets board support for grant request. The board approved a letter in support of an application by Devin Shepard and Cara Sammons Shepard of Flying Goat Farm for state/federal grant funds. If successful, the grant would support an electric van for the farm’s 200-mile delivery route. Flying Goat has a retail stand at the farm on 766 Intervale Road, but the heart of the business are wholesale customers as far afield as Portsmouth.
After the board’s 5-0 vote to approve the letter in support, Devin Shepard gave board members samples of Flying Goat cheese. To laughter, Shepard said he waited to deal out the treats so as not to improperly influence the vote. “Come back anytime!” board members replied.
In other action, the board
— agreed to investigate the impact for New Gloucester of the Pineland TIF’s expiration in 2031. Among the board’s questions: If there’s an unspent balance in the TIF account, where does the money go and can it still be spent? (The TIF fund can be drawn on for certain municipal expenses—most recently, paving for Morse Road–sparing taxpayers.)
And what happens if/when the Pineland campus is added to the Town’s overall property valuation, which affects the respective shares of the MSAD 15 school budget shouldered by each town? More to come next meeting;
— clarified for budget planning that town employees won’t receive across the board cost-of-living increases in FY26, as in some past years. Instead, only ‘merit-based’ increases of up to 3 percent will be in play.
Board members discussed whether not doing cost-of-living increases makes sense in the current tight job market but appeared to conclude that the Town’s generous health benefits offset that consideration. Proposed departmental operating budgets are coming in November; and
— agreed to close the service window at Town Hall on Tuesday, November 5, so that all hands can be on deck for Election Day at the Fire Station.
View video of the October 21, 2024, Select Board meeting at this link. Find contact information for Select Board members and links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents at this link.
