| Joanne Cole |
The Select Board on Monday created an ad hoc committee to look into plans for improving and expanding the Town Hall Complex. They also gave the go-ahead for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office to relocate its substation to the Public Works building and heard an update on plans for the Talking Brook Public Land project off Woodman Road.
The December 4 meeting opened with a moment of silence for Lado Lodoka, a member of the town’s Economic Development Committee who had died tragically only days before. Board member Dustin Ward offered a heartfelt tribute, speaking of Lodoka’s impact, particularly his advocacy for immigrants’ rights.
Ward recalled moving to New Gloucester—“just a few houses down”—and being welcomed as a new neighbor to a home gathering, an example of Lodoka’s “bringing people together to reflect and share.” An outpouring of stories attests to how Lodoka touched so many in New Gloucester and across southern Maine, Ward said. “He may be gone, but he’ll never be forgotten.”
The board paused for reflection, then took up the evening’s agenda.
Sheriff’s substation to move to Public Works building. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has been using part of the Community Building in the Town Hall Complex as its local base at no cost since 2019. But that location poses potential safety risks for kids participating in Rec programs, and its interior space is inadequate, particularly for female staff.
The Sheriff’s Office preferred the Public Works building over the fire station for a new in-town location, Manager Bill Kerbin reported. Public Works offers lockable interior offices for work and suitable staff space, including for women.
Public Works Director Ted Shane assured the board that having CCSO in the building won’t interfere with his team’s operations. “I want them there. It’s security night times and weekends for us,” Shane said. The building’s exterior doors are kept locked, and a key fob system provides both access control and tracking, he said.
Member Stephen Hathorne was concerned that deputies would often go south from Public Works rather than patrol all areas of town. He wanted to maintain their presence in the Lower Village, if possible, and suggested the basement of the Library as an alternative location.
Chair Paul Larrivee commented that, in his view, law enforcement and library activities are incompatible and further, that the Library hasn’t been allowed to use the basement, even after mold remediation. Larrivee thought the new ad hoc committee could consider a permanent location for the CCSO somewhere in an updated Town Hall Complex.
The new plan with the Sheriff’s Office takes effect immediately, assuming no objections from MDOT about use of the road entrance. The board settled on a one-year term in order to assess that the arrangement is working well for all.
New ad hoc committee to study Town Hall Complex needs and plans. The board voted 4-0 (Vice Chair Tammy Donovan absent) to create an ad hoc committee to assess future needs and determine what’s feasible with the infrastructure and acreage at the Town Hall Complex.
A conceptual design, with new structures, re-imagined interiors and an elevator in Town Hall, along with added parking, was developed in 2006, then shelved. Paul Larrivee noted that money has been voted toward the project in recent years despite the lack of engineering studies or a firm plan. Can the Town Hall even structurally support an elevator, he wondered.
It’s time to get the ball rolling and find out, Larrivee said. Others agreed. The new Ad Hoc Municipal Complex Advisory Committee will comprise seven residents plus town staff. It will consider not just Town Hall but all the buildings in the area.
A call for applications for the new committee is expected to go out in time for the board to make appointments at their January 8, 2024, meeting.
Signage, plans for Talking Brook Public Land. The board unanimously gave Royal River Conservation Trust permission to add signs to a Town-owned parking patch at the end of Woodman Road. RRCT will maintain the area at its expense, Executive Director Alan Stearns said.
The parking spot–recently leveled with added fill–affords access to trails and plays a part in what Stearns called “the big picture”: the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands’ plans for Talking Brook Public Land. The Town has no direct role in the larger project, but Stearns wanted to keep the board and community apprised.
As Stearns explained, Talking Brook Public Land will be a new 200-acre public preserve combining the existing RRCT Big Falls Preserve and private Norumbega trails long open to the public. Both areas reflect the stewardship and vision of longtime residents Michael and Julie Fralich, and the new project wouldn’t exist without them, Stearns said in thanking the couple.
Talking Brook Public Land will be a “light touch” state forest, not a state park, and similar to the Pineland Public Lands on Depot Road, Stearns said. It will be owned and managed by the state, with day-to-day eyes on the ground provided by RRCT.
Chair Paul Larrivee, a forester familiar with Bureau of Parks and Lands properties, said that Talking Brook is “a unique project” with its multiple uses and objectives for the land. “The picture fits very well” with New Gloucester’s Comprehensive Plan, he said.
Additional parking for Talking Brook Public Land will be on public lands, not Town property, Larrivee noted. It will be off-road, Stearns said, with capacity for the Saturday mornings when visitors “unload golden retrievers and kids.” Stearns also said he doesn’t think the change is likely to meaningfully increase traffic on local roads. The intense Covid-related pressure to get out of the house has largely receded, he said, and the trail network is long-established.
The Talking Brook Public Land transfer is expected to close by year-end.
Other action:
— Untangling a procedural snafu, the board sent on to the Capital Improvement Plan Committee a request from Fire Rescue for a UTV (3-1, Hathorne opposed.) The UTV would provide off-road access for rescue and fire suppression, filling a need unmet since FY22 when a smaller unit met its end.
— With no public or code officer objection, the board renewed the Volkshop’s automobile graveyard/junkyard license. The business is owned by Larry and Vicky Wedge and located at 119 Sabbathday Road.
— The board set January 8 as a tentative date for a TIF workshop. Tax Increment Financing is a tool that allows municipalities to designate an area for development/improvement. As the TIF district’s property valuation increases, the municipality can set aside and shelter the resulting ‘new’ revenues for reinvestment in the district.
In New Gloucester, the Pineland campus is a TIF district. Spending TIF funds requires voter approval. Most recently, at the 2023 annual town meeting, voters approved spending $100,000 in TIF funds toward paving Morse Road. The TIF fund balance before that draw was more than $1.6 million.
Since the Pineland TIF agreement doesn’t expire until 2031, the focus of the upcoming board workshop will be on how the TIF works and what its funds can be used for – timely topics as budget season cranks up.
— Public Works Director Ted Shane shared that Poland and Raymond are willing to cover winter maintenance on the back end of Quarry Road if the board wants to close New Gloucester’s portion for the winter. Shane recommended sticking with closing the road just for mud season on February 15, as previously decided. He suggested little would be gained from a longer closure except complaints. The board agreed to keep the February 15 closure and perhaps revisit the topic next year.
Watch the video of the December 4, 2023, Select Board meeting at this link. Find Select Board information and links to agendas, documents and minutes at this link.
