Surprisingly for Dresden town officials, it was the article that would have authorized the select board to sell a fire truck that drew the most attention during a 40-minute special town meeting at Pownalborough Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Roughly 40 people attended the meeting, which was moderated by Jeff Pierce. After an extended discussion of the merits of the fire truck article, Pierce guided the meeting to a motion to table the article until “the next town meeting.”
As presented, question five on the six-article warrant would have authorized the select board to sell to sell the town’s 1994 ladder through a sealed bid process.
Questioned by voters, Dresden Select Board members Don Gleason and Lisa Hewitt said Fire Chief Lawrence Call recommended the sale as a means to raise funds toward the purchase of a new ladder/ pumper. The 1994 ladder/pumper truck can still pass inspection, but it is aging, the pump’s capability to pressurize to maximum capacity is diminishing, and the town can expect thousands in annual maintenance costs, board members said.
“I do know that the fire chief pretty much just brought this up because he knew that, although it’s stickered right now, it may not be in the future, in the next year,” said Town Administrator Nicole Rogers. “He knew that it was going to continue to take money to maintain it, and we just figured we were going to need to have a special town meeting anyways, so why not bring it to the residents?”
During debate, residents questioned the timing and the necessity of buying a new truck, whether Dresden could partner with a neighboring town to share the expense and the equipment, and, in the event the pump fails to pass inspection, if it would be possible use the ladder and another pumper truck to supply water.
After no one responded when Pierce asked if anyone was present from the fire department who could answer some of the questions, Pierce suggested the residents could table the article until the next town meeting. Tabling would allow time for the voters to get more information, and perhaps someone from the fire department could attend the next town meeting to answer questions and concerns, Pierce said.
“So there’s some options,” he said. “There is clearly a lot of discomfort in this room.”
In quick successive hand votes, voters moved the question, ending debate, and tabled the article.
Dispatching two other financial articles, voters also overwhelmingly authorized the select board to expend $65,000 as a fund match toward a future broadband network and authorized the board to appropriate $75,000 from surplus to cover an unanticipated increase in snow removal costs.
In August, Maine Connectivity Authority awarded Lincoln County a $6 million grant for a fiber broadband project intended to bring broadband to residents across the county. Construction on the broadband network is expected to begin in 2025. The grant requires a match from municipalities involved in the project.
Rogers previously said two companies submitted bids for the Dresden’s snow removal contract, both of which exceeded the amount the town had budgeted. The contractor that the select board hired for road maintenance is DAR Construction, which bid $325,000 for the first year.
With little opposition, voters adopted a new business license ordinance, replacing an existing ordinance that was adopted in 1980. The ordinance requires all people conducting business within Dresden to obtain a license and establishes a unified process and standards for all types of business licenses issued by the town.
Voters also adopted an enhanced 911 ordinance, intended to improve first responders’ ability to locate and respond to properties in the event of an emergency.
The enhanced 911 ordinance requires all public or private roads in Dresden serving two or more properties to have a name. The ordinance also calls for all Dresden roads to be fixed with numbers at 50-foot intervals and creates the position of addressing officer to administer the ordinance.
A number of residents highlighted a few typos in the hard copies of the ordinance they were presented. After discussion, the voters agreed to adopt the ordinances now and amend them as needed at a future town meeting.
