|Debra Smith|
At its Monday evening meeting on Zoom, the New Gloucester Board of Selectmen heard during public comment from Julie Fralich, reporting on what the economic development committee has done over the past two years, and from Tim Terranova, chair of the library trustees, with concerns about the library budget being underfunded.
The board voted to send the planning position at 36 hours, and the library positions (with library director at 36 hours, and assistant at 30 hours) back to the voters. The vote was unanimous on the planning figure, but Peter Bragdon voted no on the library budget, after urging the board to reconsider increasing the assistant to 36 hours with benefits. “It won’t impact the mill rate,” he explained. Voting will take place on Tuesday, September 15 with a Q&A session scheduled via Zoom on Wednesday August 12 at 7 PM. Community members may email questions and requests to participate to Sharlene Myers: smyers@newgloucester.com.
The board approved a pole permit for Pine Tree Telephone, and sent an application for Beano/Bingo back to the AMVETS to correct a date. They also discussed the status of committees that haven’t met during the Covid shut-down (economic development, the ad hoc marijuana committee, community fair and public safety.) Tammy Donovan had questioned whether committees should be paused or dissolved for now. Karen Gilles remarked that the committees exist to take some of the burden off the board. After questions about who the liaisons are to each committee, and what their charges are, the board asked the town manager to communicate with committee members to ask for their input on moving forward and any questions about their committee’s charge.
Brenda Fox-Howard, town manager, had already heard back from the town planner, Scott Hastings, about the economic development committee and its vital role in carrying out important elements of the new comprehensive plan. However, the cut in his hours will hamper his involvement with this committee. She noted, “The town urgently needs economic development, but the town needs to get to a point where it is ready to act.”
The longest, liveliest and most in-depth discussion of the evening had to do with a truck.
NGFR Chief Toby Martin had prepared specifications for a utility truck for a request for bids. Selectman George Colby demonstrated his in-depth knowledge of trucks, talking through each item in the specification sheet, and advising on changes. Other board members chimed in with questions and advice. In the end, the item was tabled to explore whether it’s possible to use the state bid process in September, which might save money. Chief Martin and Ted Shane, public works director, will look at the state bids to see if there are viable options and bring that information back to the board.
The truck discussion raised questions about where the town sits in regard to the budget. If we don’t have a budget, is it possible to buy a truck? Fox-Howard explained that since this was in an article already approved by the voters, yes. But we won’t have a final total budget number until we have a vote on the two articles that failed in July.
The video recording of this meeting will be posted on the town’s website.
