| Joanne Cole |
The Select Board’s November 6 meeting opened with a moment of silence for the victims of the October 25 mass shootings in Lewiston, the injured, their families and “all those that were touched in some way by that horrific violence,” in the words of Chair Paul Larrivee. “Lewiston Strong,” Larrivee said as he turned to the agenda.
On action items, the board approved awarding a contract to Mark Cenci Geologic for soils and wetlands analysis of Town-owned parcels in the Upper Village, a next step in determining the properties’ development potential. The board also approved using ARPA funds toward replacement tires for the Transfer Station loader, approved revised Bylaws for Boards and Committees, and determined which departmental capital requests will now undergo review and ranking by the Capital Improvements Committee.
But it was the Town’s former pit on Morse Road, near the railroad tracks, that generated extended discussion.
Target practice at Town pit. At the October 16 meeting, Manager Bill Kerbin reported having received several complaints about target practice at the Town’s Morse Road pit. Kerbin told the board he planned to post the property to minimize liability and cut down on the noise complaints. Board members instead wanted an opportunity to discuss what, if anything, to do about the problem and the property. So onto the November 6 agenda went the pit.
Chair Paul Larrivee noted that there’s long been shooting at the Morse Road pit. But the noise complaints appear to be comparatively recent, perhaps stemming at least in part from people shooting Tannerite exploding targets.
That was the view of Public Works Director Ted Shane. He thought the biggest issue was setting off Tannerite there this summer – three times, at night, after dark. “If we can figure out that problem, I don’t think there would be an issue. Everybody does go there to target practice. They still do,” Shane said.
[Side note about Tannerite for readers like me. Tannerite comes as a prepackaged kit; the container doubles as a target. The ingredients are stable, even when mixed. Once mixed, the product will detonate if “hit solidly” with a bullet traveling “2,000 feet per second or faster,” according to Tannerite. “Shot with a high-power rifle it produces a water vapor and a thunderous boom resembling an explosion.” (Handguns, shotguns, 22s won’t get it done, Tannerite says.) Learn more at Tannerite’s FAQs.]
The board discussed shooting at the Morse Road pit in general, not Tannerite incidents specifically. They agreed that No trespassing signs don’t belong on public land. Members raised allowing access but prohibiting shooting, or perhaps regulating hours for shooting, then wondered who would enforce any such restrictions. They also worried about inadvertently pushing shooting into areas that would be less safe.
Paul Larrivee said he knows that “a lot of people” use the pit for target practice. “But are we keeping this for people to be able to target practice?” he said. “I’m just not sure that makes any sense for a municipality.”
Larrivee said, “What I’ve been thinking about out of all these complaints – it seems to me we are retaining ownership of a piece of land for target practice – for certain people, not everybody.” “And getting complaints about it in the process,” added member Colleen Strickler.
“I’m worried about us,” Larrivee continued. “We’re basically condoning and recognizing that it’s a publicly owned shooting range, is what it is.” He said he shoots on his own property and has a family membership locally at Royal River Rod & Gun Club. Vice Chair Tammy Donovan said not everyone can afford that. Larrivee replied, “It’s not that expensive.”
Member Stephen Hathorne said he was “sensitive to the noise issue,” which he called extreme, and its impact. Many complaints have come from hunters, he said, so “it’s not a gun issue, it’s a noise issue.”
Hathorne thought the Town should sell the land. The 40-acre parcel has an assessed value of $400,000, according to town records. The Town should sell it and “put a half million dollars in the bank account and charge the new owner taxes,” he said. The pit is no longer a source of material for the Town—Shane had confirmed the pit was exhausted as a resource–and Hathorne thought it had become “a greater liability than an asset.”
Discussion turned to how any sale would go forward and who can authorize it. Tammy Donovan thought voters should decide. “I don’t want to sell it, but if you guys are going to do it, do it at town meeting,” Donovan said. Larrivee asked her, “What would your proposed use of it be for the town, to benefit all the residents of the town?” Donovan said she just didn’t want a precedent of reacting to “appease a couple of complaints” when there are “more people who utilize it.”
Stephen Hathorne said the board does not need voter approval to sell land. “We’ve done it many times before.” He thought the board’s authority was set out in the Charter and, in addition, that town meeting is now limited to budgetary items and ordinances. “I don’t think we can take this to the people,” Hathorne said.
Flipping through his copy of the Charter, Town Manager Bill Kerbin confirmed that the “Powers and Duties of the Select Board” section gives the board authority to “sell and dispose of surplus Town-owned personal or real property on such terms and conditions as the Select Board determines to be in the best interest of the Town.”
What’s in the best interest of the Town? asked Larrivee. Board members discussed holding a public forum to take community input on that question and the possibility of disposing of the property. They’ll take up the forum idea at a meeting in January.
Loader replacement tires ready to roll. The board approved using $5,741 in ARPA funds to close the gap between the $17,741 price to purchase, foam-fill and install four replacement tires for the transfer station loader and the $12,000 budgeted.
Public Works Director Ted Shane recommended the mid-grade from among three possible tire choices. He hopes the new ones will last longer than the those being replaced, the lowest priced and least durable.
Shane noted that the loader spends half its time in the metal pile, pushing the pile to create more room. Demand on the vehicle has increased dramatically in recent years. It used to be about 130 tons of metal cleared out twice yearly before Covid, Shane said. This year he’s projecting 360 tons and five trips.
Board culls capital requests. The board winnowed the capital requests for FY25 proposed by town departments and Manager Bill Kerbin. They sent most on for review and prioritization by the Capital Improvements Program Committee (CIP), but cut a couple after discussion. The CIP Committee will now rank the requests they received; ultimately, the board determines which and how many to present to voters at town meeting in May.
The CIP process sets out several factors for evaluating capital requests, including whether the request will meet emergency health and safety needs, maintain the town’s rural character and natural resources, reduce operating expenses, or help preserve infrastructure, among others.
The board nixed a proposed shallow-water boat for Fire Rescue, following questions about whether it’s needed. The $25,000 request included the boat, trailer and motor and explained that New Gloucester has relied on Gray Fire Rescue for open-water rescue support, but Gray no longer has a boat and does not plan to replace it in the near future. A NGFR boat would “allow us to take on a burden others have carried for us for years,” the request said.
Board members wondered how often a rescue boat might be used. They acknowledged that that question could be answered at the CIP Committee but declined to send the request on.
Also from Fire Rescue was a request involving fire suppression: installing a dry hydrant across from the former Grange Hall on Sabbathday Lake and a 30,000-gallon cistern on Morse Road near Route 100. Fire Rescue sought $53,000 to cover both projects and would use an existing account for the cistern that has a $62,500 balance. The projects represent “a positive investment” in water supply and fire suppression infrastructure at opposite ends of town, the request said.
The board wanted to go forward with the dry hydrant but balked at funding the Morse Road cistern without first having a comprehensive assessment of the town’s existing water resources, gaps and needs, and areas of future growth. Would a cistern on Morse Road still be the priority in that larger context? they asked.
Hearing the comments, Public Works Director Ted Shane stepped to the microphone and said, “That corner of New Gloucester – Morse Road and Mayall Road – has no water, unless you tap into a hydrant at the corner of Mayall that belongs to the Town of Gray. There is no water down there.”
If Shane was offering a hint, the board declined to take it. They stressed the urgency of a full town-wide review and making that a priority. Meanwhile, it’s full speed ahead for installing a dry hydrant across from the old Grange Hall that would pull water from the lake to serve that end of town.
The board turned aside a proposed new EV pick-up truck to be shared among Code Enforcement, Parks and Rec, Planning and the Manager for staff to use on town business instead of their personal vehicles. Rather than buy new, the board decided to retain and refit an older pick-up slated for replacement, an option the departments and manager had suggested.
The flip side of that plan is a new pick-up with plow gear for Public Works. That request sailed on to CIP with its $90,000 cost proposed to come from the department’s capital reserves. Separately, a replacement Public Works dump and plow truck also went forward, with its $340,000 cost to come from capital reserves.
The board sent forward a $17,000 request for security improvements at the Library, including cameras and monitoring, and panic buttons for staff. Discussion suggested that security cameras are present in all town facilities except the Library, and that there are panic buttons in Town Hall.
Member Stephen Hathorne questioned the number of cameras needed and the overall cost. Board members replied that sometimes only one library staff member is working. “The world we live in today, libraries are targets,” Colleen Strickler added.
Member Dustin Ward said that not only do library personnel need to be safe, but “you’re inviting the community in”—including with lots of programs for kids and community members—who should be safe. Deputy Clerk Sharlene Myers noted that Town Hall cameras have in fact been used, both inside and out. The library request went on to the CIP Committee.
The status of a proposed replacement UTV (larger than an ATV) for Fire Rescue may have gotten tangled over the course of the meeting. The UTV would provide access to trails, forests and fields, and along rail lines, where full-sized apparatus can’t go, according to the request.
The board voted 3-2 to send the $23,000 request on to the CIP Committee, together with several clarifying questions about the UTV’s use—fire response or rescue?—and possible funding sources. Later, however, in a wrap-up motion recapping what was in and what was out overall, the UTV was listed as excluded, along with the Fire Rescue boat, the shared EV pick-up truck, and the Morse Road cistern.
What, then, is the fate of the UTV? Perhaps that will be clearer when the CIP Committee convenes on November 13.
A request for $500,000 for chip seal/paving got the board’s blessing. Gloucester Hill Road, Church Road, Chandler Mill Road, Cobble Hill Road and Colbath Drive are up next as the priority roads or road segments. A further $265,000 will come from TIF funds for paving on Morse Road and at the Transfer Station.
No dirt roads are slated to be paved in FY25, Public Works Director Ted Shane confirmed. However, test borings will be done this coming winter on Pond Road and Rowe Station Road, the roads that were mentioned first, Shane said. That information will help determine next steps.
There were more capital requests discussed and more agenda items, too. Watch the video of the November 6, 2023, Select Board meeting at this link. Find Select Board information and links to agendas, documents and minutes at this link.
