March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Crystal

No one took out nomination papers for elected positions here, meaning that a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen and a three-year term on the Southern Aroostook Community School District board will have to be filed by write-in candidates, according to Town Clerk Linda York.

Polls will be open from 12:35 to 4:35 p.m. Monday, March 18, at the town office. The remainder of the meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Green Valley School.

The 1996 proposed budget is $148,627, not including the school appropriation.

Oakfield

Polls here will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, March 25, at the town office. The evening portion of the annual meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall.

John Nadeau and Travis Hersey each seek election to a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Nancy Wyles is the only candidate for a three-year term on the Southern Aroostook Community School District board.

The town has joined Merrill and Smyrna in applying for a Community Development Block Grant for a community building to serve the three towns.

According to Candy Roy, who serves as town manager for all three towns, if the grant is approved in time, voters will be asked to authorize town officials to proceed with the project.

If the grant is not approved by the state in time, the project probably will be put off for another year because the towns cannot afford to fund the project entirely on their own. The cost for the community building is $420,000, Roy said, with the local matching share coming to $170,000.

If the grant was approved, Oakfield’s share would be $98,175, Smyrna’s share would be $40,732, and Merrill’s share would be $31,093.

Reed Plantation

The annual meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at the town’s Community Hall. During the meeting, voters will nominate from the meeting floor, and elect one assessor for a three-year term and two school committee members for three-year terms.

Eighth-grade pupils at the town school will sponsor a lunch to be served at noon the day of the meeting.

Voters again will be asked to consider warrant articles pertaining to a new town office, with appropriations for that project to come from town reserve accounts and surplus.

After considerable debate, voters last year rejected a request for about $40,000 to build a new town office, which is located on the second floor of the community building and does not meet safety or handicapped-access guidelines.

A committee subsequently was elected to work with town officials to research the matter in greater depth.

An article dealing with automobile graveyards and junkyards also is on the warrant.

Warren

Incumbent Sonja Wyllie easily won re-election to the SAD 40 board of directors in Warren’s town election Monday.

Wyllie defeated challenger Blaine Richardson 158-72 for the three-year term on the board. In the only other contested race, incumbent Kathi Chase won re-election to Seat 5 on the Warren Sanitary District board, defeating Selectman Craig Stewart 153-71.

Incumbents re-elected without opposition were John Crabtree and Arnold Hill to the board of selectmen and Catherine McKeown and Robert Graham to the sanitary district board.

Milo

At their annual town meeting Monday night, Milo voters agreed to appropriate $5,000 to help pay for the relocation of the town’s historical society museum to a new site.

Accounts which were cut included the road reconstruction account from $30,000 to $10,000. Voters also approved applying refunds from overcharges made at the former hospital to the operation of the Three Rivers Ambulance Service. Last year, $20,000 was appropriated to this account. As a result of voter action, the department will receive $13,000.

The traffic guide account was also cut from $5,300 to $2,700 in the hope that alternative ways of providing the service can be found.

In elections, Douglas Crawford, a write-in candidate, received 141 votes and won a seat on the town’s Board of Selectmen. He was opposed by Carolyn Dillon, who received 49 votes, and Harriett Boobar, 19 votes.

Incumbents Peter Hamlin and Stephanie Salley were re-elected to the SAD 41 board. Hamlin received 152 votes; Salley, 177; and Mary Lyford, 75.

A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, at the town hall to discuss some changes to the names of Milo roads as part of the preliminary work for the Enhanced 911 program. A list of names are available at the town office. Comments about changes can be made in writing or at the Tuesday public hearing.

Howland

New siding for the town hall was the only item cut from the town’s budget proposal during the annual town meeting on Monday.

Residents wanted more information about the project. With the $10,000 cut for new siding, residents approved a total budget of $402,300, which represents an increase of $15,240.

Despite the increase in the total budget, the $259,300 to be raised from local taxes represents a $12,260 decrease from last year.

Although the net budget represents a decrease, Town Manager Glenna Armour said it did not necessarily mean there would be a decrease in the 1996 tax rate.

Armour said it would be hard to predict what the 1996 tax rate might be without knowing what the school and county tax assessments were and without knowing what the town’s value will be on April 1.

Barring major increases in the assessments or a loss in town value, Armour hopes the decreased net town budget will maintain the current rate.

Residents approved new guidelines for disposing of property acquired by the town for nonpayment of taxes. Under the new guidelines, officials will assess each piece of tax-acquired property considering its current use, and evaluating current or future needs of the town. Officials would contact abutting landowners to see if they may be interested in purchasing the property.

A motion made by resident Jay Nadeau to cut funds for the code enforcement officer from $2,500 to $500 was overwhelmingly defeated.

Voters re-elected Joe Dunn and elected Frank Kirsch to the Board of Selectmen for two-year terms. Election results in the five-way race are: Kirsch 230 votes; Dunn, 195; Jay Nadeau, 142 votes; Ronald Merrill, 64; and Ricky Martin, 63.

John Neel was re-elected and Sandra Saucier was elected to the SAD 31 board for three-year terms. Election results in the three-way race are: Neel 267 votes, Saucier, 228; and Joann Rackely, 110.


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