The Newcastle Board of Selectmen unanimously voted March 14 to direct Newcastle Fire Chief Clayton Huntley to halt the ongoing bidding process for a new fire truck.
The Newcastle Fire Co. plans to purchase a new rescue pumper to replace two aging members of its fleet.
The Fire Co. recently began the process of seeking bids for the new truck, despite the concerns of Newcastle Town Administrator Ron Grenier regarding the legality of the move.
After the appearance of a notice to bid in the March 3 edition of The Lincoln County News, Grenier contacted the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) to “ensure” the town’s “compliance” with state law.
According to a March 10 e-mail to Grenier from Richard Flewelling, assistant director of the MMA Legal Services Department, the solicitation of bids “is premature and without proper legal authorization if [Huntley’s] assumption is that [Newcastle] will pay for” the truck.
Flewelling recommended that Huntley stop soliciting bids, publish notices canceling the solicitation and, if he contacted fire truck vendors directly to solicit bids, to notify the vendors of the withdrawal.
If Huntley fails to “promptly take the above actions,” Flewelling recommended that the selectmen authorize Grenier to do so on his behalf.
Grenier forwarded Flewelling’s e-mail to Huntley, along with a March 14 letter informing him of the selectmen’s action forbidding the solicitation of bids until the annual town meeting in June.
“I want to emphasize and clarify that this action should not be viewed as the Town taking a position on the merits or need for a new fire truck,” Grenier wrote.
“The Newcastle Fire Company… has the legal right to go out and solicit bids,” Huntley said March 15. “We’re not committing the town to a thing.”
Huntley declined further comment.
Grenier, in response to Huntley’s comments, said the town must follow MMA’s legal advice and said he “would like to see” the Fire Co. produce a legal opinion supporting its position.
Huntley and other Fire Co. officials have said the intent of beginning the bid process before the town meeting is to provide an accurate estimate to voters. The officials have said the Fire Co. will not accept a bid without town approval.
Grenier has said the Fire Co. can gather estimates without seeking bids.
Selectman Ellen Dickens expressed reservations about the policy, although she ultimately voted in favor of it.
The policy requires employees to pay 20 percent of their health insurance premium and, if the policy covers family members, the entire cost of the family members’ coverage.
By adopting the new policy, Newcastle will limit the candidate pool for town jobs, Dickens said.
Newcastle provided health insurance at no cost to employees through at least 2006, according to the town’s previous policy. In 2006, the town began requiring employees to absorb “any increase in the monthly premium.”
Straw cited popular demand for the move and the proposal drew support from Loretta Boeche, a citizen in attendance at the meeting.
Elderly drivers often will not drive at night, Boeche said, lessening turnout. “Having 10 percent of the people make the decisions for the town is ridiculous,” she said.
A suggestion from Selectman Brian Foote to keep polls open an extra hour, until 7 p.m., also found support from the Board, although it didn’t take official action on either item.
Gov. Paul LePage and David Bernhardt, Commissioner of the Dept. of Transportation, suspended work on Gateway 1, a planning project involving federal and state agencies and 19 towns along the Rt. 1 corridor from Brunswick northeast to Stockton Springs, March 1.
Gateway 1 funds paid for the contract of consultant Beth Della Valle, who had been leading a series of visioning workshops in Newcastle.
LUORC Chair Rob Nelson expressed a desire to complete the series of workshops, with Nelson and other LUORC members taking the helm in Della Valle’s absence.
Nelson and Vice Chair Ben Frye attended a recent meeting of Gateway 1 representatives, Nelson said. For many of the representatives, questions remain about the project.
According to Nelson, federal funds paid for a large percentage of Gateway 1 expenditures and it’s unclear if the federal government will pursue repayment of the funds. According to Frye, the state was supposed to provide 30 days’ notice to towns “if they were backing out.”
Nelson said Gateway 1 might persist as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Nelson lamented the project’s suspension, citing the “hundreds of hours” of labor by dozens of volunteers within the Gateway 1 corridor as well as the loss of local planning funds. “It was very unfortunate the way it was stopped,” he said.
Going forward, Frye said, Newcastle can “utilize” Lincoln County planner Bob Faunce for professional assistance.
Ellen McFarland, the Chair of the Newcastle Board of Selectmen, expressed condolences to the committee for their disappointment but underlined the achievements of LUORC, the consultants and the town through the visioning process.
“I think there are a lot of good things that have come out of it and I think there are a lot of good things that can come of it,” McFarland said.
The Board did not take any official action relative to the committee.
Foote announced his intention to resign from his position as the town’s deputy director of civil emergency preparedness at the end of June.
Grenier said he plans to recommend the elimination of the position in the forthcoming budget.
The selectmen unanimously voted to renew the contract of assessor’s agent Jim Murphy.
Newcastle road commissioner Steve Reynolds said he plans to replace two culverts on North Dyer Neck Road for “just under $2000.” A section of East Old County Road also needs repairs, although the town plans to delay repairs due to spring weather conditions.
A nearly hour-long discussion of a $6315.40 fine to remove a property from tree growth status made up the bulk of a Newcastle Board of Assessors meeting (the Board of Assessors shares its membership with the Board of Selectmen).
Ultimately, over the objections of the landowner, the Assessors, following Murphy’s recommendation, unanimously voted to remove the parcel and assess the fine.
According to a March 9 e-mail from Larry Benoit to Grenier, CMP plans to begin installing smart meters in Newcastle in late May/early June.
“CMP will honor requests by customers to retain their existing meter until the Maine [Public Utilities Commission] determines if it will order CMP to allow customers to ‘opt out’ of the smart meter program,” Benoit wrote.
