The Bristol Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to “put the Public Works Committee on hold until sometime in the future,” at their Oct. 6 meeting.
“The selectmen formed the committee to conduct a feasibility study” about the formation of a Public Works Department, Bristol Town Administrator Kristine Poland said.
The town currently contracts for snow removal with John Prior and has a Highway Department with a single employee, Sean Hunter, who performs routine road maintenance and snow removal for all town properties. A Public Works Department would take over all snow removal and absorb the Highway Department.
Waldoboro and Wiscasset are the only Lincoln County towns with Public Works departments, Poland said.
Due to high capital costs, including the purchase of expensive snow removal equipment, the selectmen and the committee agreed the proposal “wouldn’t be feasible” at this time, Poland said.
In other business, Hanna, a member of the Lincoln County Budget Advisory Committee, reported on the status of county budget talks. Due in part to higher recycling revenues, “The county budget looks like it’s going to go down about two and a half percent,” Hanna said.
The selectmen agreed to return to weekly meetings after meeting every other week during the summer and early fall. Their next meeting is Wed., Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Bristol Town Office.
