Dresden voters will decide whether to adopt a comprehensive plan when they gather for town meeting at Pownalborough Hall at 9 a.m., Saturday, June 13.
The comprehensive plan is the 53rd and final article on the warrant for the annual town meeting.
Maine law requires towns to have comprehensive plans in order to substantiate zoning. Comprehensive plans also help towns secure grants from the state, as many programs favor towns with comprehensive plans.
Dresden previously developed and proposed a comprehensive plan more than 10 years ago. The state approved the plan, but Dresden voters rejected it, according to First Selectman Philip Johnston.
This time, Dresden will seek approval from its own residents first. The earlier comprehensive plan also “outlined growth areas and this comp plan does not,” Johnston said.
The majority of the remaining articles pertain to the town budget. The 2015-2016 appropriations total $733,479, an increase of $28,754 or 4.08 percent over the 2014-2015 budget, according to the warrant.
According to the warrant, the Dresden Board of Selectmen and the Dresden Budget Review Committee differ in their recommendations for roadwork and winter roads expenses.
The selectmen recommend $355,354, an increase of $44,454 or 14.3 percent over last year’s $310,900 budget. The budget review committee recommends the same budget as last year.
The recommendation of the selectmen incorporates hikes in each part of the budget: $181,900 to $187,354 for the snowplowing contract, $40,000 to $60,000 for town roads, $35,000 to $39,000 for salt, $28,000 to $39,000 for sand, and $26,000 to $30,000 for capital improvements and paving.
The increase in the snowplowing contract would pay for the first year of a new, three-year contract. A separate question will ask voters to authorize the selectmen to enter the contract.
The increases in the capital improvement and town roads lines would pay for “major work” on Blinn Hill, Calls Hill, and Common roads, as well as “ditching and maintenance work” along Orchard Hills Road, according to the warrant.
“Most of it is Calls Hill Road – reconstructing 1 mile of road,” Third Selectman Allan Moeller Sr. said. The reconstruction will include culvert replacements, ditching, and a “base coat” of asphalt. A “surface coat” would follow later.
The increases in salt and sand expenses stem from an increase in the price of salt and a lack of surplus sand, according to the warrant.
Elsewhere on the warrant, many budget requests match last year’s or are less than last year’s due to account balances the town will carry into the next fiscal year.
The 2015-2016 budget recommendations identical to the 2014-2015 budget include salaries for the administrative assistant, $36,400; treasurer, $12,000; town clerk, $7,965; property tax collector, $7,500; first selectman, $6,500; excise tax collector, $5,900; second selectman, $5,000; third selectman, $5,000; fire chief, $4,200; planning board chairman, $2,500; and assistant fire chief, $2,100.
Non-salary recommendations identical to the 2014-2015 budget include the public safety building bond payment, $60,210; general administration, $50,000; insurance, $22,000; tipping fees, $14,000; fire department equipment, $12,500; volunteer firefighter reimbursement, 12,500; Bridge Academy Public Library, $8,000; recycling center and transfer station, $6,000; Gardiner Ambulance Service contract, $3,000; and Lincoln County Humane Society contract, $1,100.
The humane society requested $1,672, but the selectmen and budget review committee recommended $1,100. The money pays for the boarding and care of stray animals from Dresden.
Categories with requests under last year’s due to account balances include fire department operations, $19,000, decrease of $9,000; payroll taxes, $7,000, decrease of $5,000; building maintenance and repair, $6,000, decrease of $1,500; general assistance, $1,000, decrease of $2,000; legal account, $800, decrease of $200; planning board expenses, $500, decrease of $600; and decorating veterans graves, $150, decrease of $150.
Voters will also consider whether to authorize the selectmen to contract with Richmond for animal control services. The arrangement would save the town $400, according to the warrant.
Budget categories with increases include recycling center salaries, $24,000, an increase of $1,000; cemetery maintenance, $10,500, an increase of $1,500; code enforcement, $8,350, an increase of $150; and technology account, $7,500, an increase of $1,500.
The recycling center increase will fund a 2 percent raise. The code enforcement increase will fund Dresden’s contract with Richmond for code enforcement. The technology account increase will pay for an increase in the cost of office software.
Voters will also consider an article to raise $10,000 from surplus for capital improvements.
The voters will consider $9,099 in requests from 13 charitable organizations, although the selectmen and the budget review committee recommend $3,450, $150 less than last year.
The organizations, their requests, and the recommendations follow: American Red Cross, $250, $250; Coastal Trans Inc., $850, $100; Elmhurst, any amount, $300; Healthy Kids, $500, $0; Lincoln County Television, $3,463, $0; Lincoln County Dental Inc., $1,500, $0; Maine General Health (Hospice), $500, $200; Midcoast Maine Community Action, $600, $600; MPBN, $100, $0; New Hope for Women Inc., $500, $500; Richmond Food Pantry, $500, $500; Spectrum Generations, $600, $600; and The LifeFlight Foundation, $836, $400.
In non-budgetary matters, voters will consider two articles relating to public water access.
First, the voters will consider whether to appropriate $22,000 from surplus for the permitting of a boat ramp at the base of the old Maine Kennebec Bridge, also known as the Dresden-Richmond bridge.
Woolwich contractor Reed & Reed has offered to build the boat ramp for free after it completes the demolition of the old bridge, and Dresden officials are working to obtain the necessary permits for the project.
Later, the voters will consider whether to accept and spend funds from the Inge Foster estate for the restoration and stabilization of land at the end of Town Landing Road, once the easterly approach to the original Middle Bridge over the Eastern River.
The work would “provide a pleasant and peaceful place to observe the river and to create safe access to the river for canoeists, kayakers, and fishermen,” according to the warrant. No town funds would go to the project.
