Wayne Brann was blunt with Whitefield selectmen Monday.
“I’ve got a problem with your snowplow outfit,” the Howe Road resident said. “They wiped out my mailbox. The driver is going too fast, it’s just a cloud when he goes by, and I’m getting sick and tired of it.” Also destroyed was the post for his newspaper tube, he said.
Even though mailboxes are located in the right-of-way, Brann said plow drivers “used to wing out” to avoid hitting them.
Board chairman Steve McCormick advised him to call snowplow contractor Steve McGee, of Gardiner, and ask for a replacement.
McCormick said he had received 40 complaints that day, when a wet mix of snow and rain left roads slippery and slushy, and that he had called McGee’s office several times. The board notified McGee two weeks ago that he wasn’t performing to the contract specifications.
Selectman Frank Ober said, “He contests it.”
McCormick agreed town roads were in “poor shape,” that Mills Road is “a washboard,” and that plow trucks were going too fast for proper clearing. He said, “I was ready to get in a truck” and do the plowing himself.
Reviewing a folder left by Mark Sawyer of the Dept. of Transportation containing photocopies of state aid roads, such as Rt. 218, Selectmen indicated in discussion the town isn’t meeting the state plow standard for plowing such roads.
McCormick said Whitefield’s snowplow contract specifies that state aid roads be plowed to the outside edges of the shoulder.
There is one year left in McGee’s three-year contract.
Sawyer didn’t return phone messages Tuesday seeking comment.
During the 2009 transition to the school unit, Whitefield retained ownership of the fields with the stipulation that the RSU has exclusive rights to the fields during school hours.
“We understand we take a back seat to the regular school programs,” said Blair, but he wanted to make sure he could set the date for an event and “not get booted off.” He added, “We’ve had multiple screw ups with use of the gym.”
The WAA is planning to hold an adult softball tournament as a fundraiser on June 4.
McCormick said he would contact the RSU facilities director John Merry, who is based in Wiscasset.
To Blair’s request to hook up the association’s snack shack to an existing water line, McCormick said there is no problem as long as the gray water is transported off the property. He advised Blair to contact code enforcement officer Arthur Strout.
Paul Pinette, who purchased Corbin & Son automobile junkyard on Rt. 17 and renamed the business Whitefield Auto Recycling Inc., asked for a permit indicating the transfer of ownership. Because the enterprise is an existing use, the selectmen waived a hearing and approved the transfer.
The board meets every Monday from 6 to 8 p.m.
