| Joanne Cole |
Select Board members put on their general contractor hats at their March 4 meeting to deal with issues at the Library, Town Hall and Public Works building.
They also considered parking and speed limits on Outlet Road and discussed using $25,000 in ARPA funds for internet access on Beaver Dam Road. An application from the Economic Development Committee for New Gloucester to be designated an Age Friendly Community failed to go forward after the board deadlocked.
Town buildings: issues and expenses. The board heard about three repair/replacement issues for town buildings and put next steps into motion.
One item involves repairs to the Library roof; the base of its bell tower currently sports festive green sheathing. Buildings and Grounds Director Ted Shane told the board that the top layer of decking beneath the roof’s protective membrane turned out to be spongy and needs replacing.
Shane said he has two estimates for the roof repairs, one of which proposes to remove the bell tower and instead put on a hip roof. The board will see the Library roof item on their next agenda.
Across the driveway, the Town Hall heating/cooling system needs replacement, but a planned bid opening had to be deferred, as only one bid was received in time for the March 4 meeting. On Shane’s recommendation, the board will keep bids open until April in hopes of drawing more interest.
Meanwhile, over at the Public Works building, a patched-up burner that uses residents’ waste oil to provide heat is on its last legs. Voters at Town Meeting this May will be invited to consider using up to $55,000 from the Town’s surplus to replace it, the board decided.
The failing unit heats a hot-air system in the 100’ x 100’ storage bays, Shane explained. It puts to good use all the waste oil collected at the Transfer Station from residents: 2,500 gallons, he said. Shane shared a $49,000 quote to supply and install a new burner that would support radiant heating that has never been used. To build in some flexibility, the board settled on a $55,000 placeholder amount to go to town meeting.
Outlet Road parking and speed limit. Manager Bill Kerbin reported a recommendation from the Public Safety Advisory Group to post No Parking signs on the north side of a portion of Outlet Road. The signage would run from the Shaker pit (near Snow Hill Road) to the bridge just before Maschino’s Sand and Gravel and the Outlet Beach.
The board approved posting the signs, but without a parking ordinance in effect, the town can’t enforce them, Kerbin acknowledged.
The board also directed Kerbin to ask MDOT to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph the full length of Outlet Road. Only a portion is currently 25, members noted. MDOT gets the final say.
ARPA funds for Beaver Dam Road internet. An on-again, off-again plan to use $25,000 in ARPA funds to help Beaver Dam Road residents get internet access appeared to be on again at the March 4 meeting.
In a late-breaking development, Spectrum is now willing to cover $35,000 of the $65,460 cost for a connection for the area, Manager Bill Kerbin told the board. That would leave some $5,000 for the residents to cover, not the $19,00 balance Spectrum previously demanded, prohibitive for the homeowners even with the Town’s ARPA help. Some 10 Beaver Dam households would be covered, board members thought.
The remaining obstacle is that Spectrum will contract only with the Town, not with the residents, Kerbin said. He said he’ll work to secure the residents’ contribution up front so the town won’t be on the hook.
Voters approved the $25,000 in ARPA funds for “Internet and Broad Band Systems” at the May 1, 2023, town meeting. In deciding to send the item to town meeting, the board spoke of using the funds to “fill holes in the town.” Internet holes remain, and the board directed Kerbin to reach out to GoNetspeed, based here in New Gloucester, and the town’s state and federal delegations to explore options to get high-speed fiber throughout the town.
Age-Friendly New Gloucester? With a tie vote—member Colleen Stricker was absent—the board rejected the Economic Development Committee’s application for New Gloucester to apply for designation as an Age-Friendly Community by AARP.
The Age Friendly designation would make the town eligible for grants for local projects and provide access to the resources and expertise of a national network. Gray, North Yarmouth, Pownal, Cumberland and Auburn are among the 87 Maine communities that are part of the national Age-Friendly Network.
The designation would also further the goal in New Gloucester’s Comprehensive Plan that commits the town to become a more “age-friendly place to live, work and play throughout the lifespan.”
In November, the Select Board rejected an Age Friendly application prepared by the Building Livability in New Gloucester volunteer group (BLING). Instead, the board decided to task the Economic Development Committee (EDC) to lead age-friendly efforts locally, with Town Planner Kathy Tombarelli as contact.
Now Planner Tombarelli and EDC Chair Connie Justice were before the board with a revised application that puts EDC in charge, including to develop New Gloucester’s community action plan, as the board had requested.
The new application referenced the BLING volunteer group and their past work, and that drew objections from Vice Chair Tammy Donovan. She particularly questioned the mention of a survey and community listening session organized by the volunteer group, rather than by a town committee – a concern member Stephen Hathorne appeared to share.
“The point of the application is to demonstrate the town’s commitment to being an age-friendly community,” EDC Chair Connie Justice said. “This volunteer group of residents of New Gloucester have demonstrated that through their work.” As for the survey, the EDC would be happy to do a survey of their own, perhaps with a different method or approach, but the work done by BLING was also valuable, Justice said.
Donovan then objected that two of EDC’s four members are volunteers with BLING. Justice noted that it was the board who had encouraged BLING volunteers to join the EDC. “At the meeting when you instructed the EDC to look at the next steps for Age Friendly, it was suggested by several Select Board members that it would be helpful to have members of BLING on the EDC.”
Justice also noted that when the EDC came to the Select Board a year ago, interested in a supporting home repair program, the board gave “very clear guidance” that EDC should not be involved in social services. Instead, the board said volunteer organizations should do that kind of work, Justice recalled. BLING “is a totally volunteer group that is willing to do those things.”
Planner Kathy Tombarelli commented that the application reflects “work that’s already been done” and also asks about possible partnerships for age-friendly work going forward. Board Chair Paul Larrivee noted that the Amvets, the Scouts and the Little League are among several groups listed with BLING and others for possible collaborations.
Member Dustin Ward called the application “a snapshot” of groups that have worked with an “age-friendly focus” and that, once the town is designated as age-friendly, EDC will take the work forward.
But not yet. The board deadlocked on the vote to approve the application, with Larrivee and Ward in favor and Donovan and Hathorne opposed (Strickler absent).
“Spring.” As part of a check-in on possible departmental budget overruns, Public Works Director Ted Shane remained cautiously optimistic that Public Works might finish under budget in June, thanks to the mild winter and despite the costs of coping with the summer’s heavy rains.
Shane said the department had already begun grading and raking the town’s gravel roads to start them drying for spring – his earliest start date yet. With that, perhaps Shane has either ushered in spring or tempted the weather gods to send rain and snow.
View the video of the Select Board’s March 5, 2024, meeting at this link. Find contact information for Select Board members and links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents at this link.
