Whitefield voters will be asked to adopt stronger mining rules on Nov. 4.
At the selectmen’s regular meeting Tuesday, administrative assistant Aaron Miller said the special town meeting warrant will be posted Friday at stores, the post office, town office and on the town website. Attached to the warrant will be the proposed amendments to the development ordinance regulating mineral extraction.
The planning board made what have been called “housekeeping” changes following a public hearing Oct. 6. Among the revisions: hours of gravel pit operation were revised to begin at 6 a.m. rather than 7 a.m. Also, under liability insurance, the owner or operator of a mining operation will have to provide a certificate of insurance to the town, instead of previously being asked to “present evidence to the code enforcement officer of adequate insurance against liability.”
The planning board also amended the section on transferring a permit if the land where mining is taking place is sold. The new owner’s application, to be made in 30 days, has to show proof of change in title and ownership, proof of financial capacity, and “sufficient performance guarantees.”
During research to beef up the mining regulations, the board tweaked operation of asphalt batch plants. Many years ago, permitting these uses once came under Site Location Law scrutiny and approval, but in the late 1990s the state started licensing them under performance standards, thus avoiding the formal application process. Whitefield’s proposed rules would mandate that asphalt plants obtain a permit from the town.
The section requiring a reclamation plan stipulates that the active extraction area not exceed five acres and that dates be provided for when various conservation measures will begin. Soil and water authorities will review the plan before it is accepted.
Strengthening the ordinance was triggered by a gravel pit application last winter to dredge below the gravel filter of one of Whitefield’s significant aquifers and create a pond.
Other agenda items
Fire chief Scott Higgins reported that fabrication of the $269,000 pumper-tanker fire truck approved last March by secret ballot has begun at the Ocala, Fla., E-One manufacturing plant. The vehicle will be delivered in January, Higgins said.
Select board members signed Maine Bond Bank documents for the 15-year-loan for the vehicle, with the first payment of $15,815 due Nov. 1, 2015.
Higgins and EMS chief Lynn Talacko also asked the board to be the signing body for an 1857 map that will hang in the fire station entry way. Talacko said the Whitefield Historical Society offered the five-by-six-foot map, which the group received as a donation, to the fire department on a loan basis for display purposes.
The board learned that Whitefield’s portion of the county tax ($207,738) increased because the town raised Central Maine Power’s valuation. Chairman Dennis Merrill said that while the preliminary estimate for the budget crafted last winter seemed to be short, that isn’t really the case. “We get the numbers for the tax and school costs before the tax commitment goes out,” he said. So the amount of money subsequently collected is “the right amount.”
Merrill announced that Chelsea and Windsor “dropped out” of a hoped-for partnership on roadside brush cutting. “We’re doing it on our own,” he said, and work will begin as soon as a contract can be awarded, with an end date of May 2015.
Selectman Sue McKeen suggested that an inexpensive pamphlet listing names and numbers for such services as animal control officer, the food bank, heating assistance, legal services for the elderly, road commissioner, and general assistance be developed and printed. With input from Miller on the types of questions people often ask, McKeen said she thought the information would be welcome. She offered to do a mockup for the board to consider.
