OLD TOWN – Monday’s Old Town City Council meeting was over in 25 minutes and all 15 agenda items passed easily, City Manager John Lord said.

“Everything passed pretty much without debate,” he said.

City officials approved refinancing $3.5 million in bonds for improvements to the wastewater treatment facility. According to finance director Joe Schlick, the refinancing will save the city around $100,000.

The council also simplified the language used and updated code requirements for new roads in Old Town, code enforcement officer Charles Heinonen said.

“There are a lot of specifics for streets, sidewalks and subdivisions – most were done in the 1960s,” he said. “What it’s doing is bringing the whole thing up to date today.”

He said the new wording will help planning officials, contractors and residents with construction projects stay on the same page.

“It’s clarifying what they ought to be doing,” Heinonen said. “Some of the standards are stricter and some are more lenient.”

The changes should make accepting newly constructed streets and roads easier, said Heinonen.

“The purpose of the proposed changes is to better organize the requirements for street acceptance and make them more user-friendly and to update the street acceptance standards to modern standards,” Councilor Jeff Plourde said during the meeting.

In other business, Bangor engineering and architecture firm AMES A/E, which drew up the conceptual designs for the rehabilitation of the Helen Hunt School into a town office, was given the job of designing the project.

“They did the conceptual plans and, based on those estimates, the council authorized them to go ahead,” said Lord.

The council is considering changing rules for running for office in Old Town. A public hearing on the matter will be held Aug. 21.

“They’re going to cut the numbers from 150 to 125 signatures to run for office,” said Mayor Alan Reynolds.

Reynolds said there also are several other minor changes under consideration.

Wording used by the Old Town School Department was changed to be uniform with the State Department of Education, said Reynolds.

“The time they have to submit [their budget] to us changed so it comes in at the same time the manager has to submit his,” he said.

At the meeting, the council approved:

. Purchasing nine protective vests for the police department at a cost of $7,256 and two police cruisers from Darling’s Ford in Bangor for $42,894.

. Purchasing a bucket truck for the public works department from Burke’s Truck Co. for $32,000.

. A one-year extension of the swimming pool contract for the Old Town-Orono YMCA.

. A letter of support for the Caribou Bog-Penjajawoc Project.

. Renewing the malt and vinous license for Antonios Dimoulas of Market Cafe, 4 Free Street.

. Renewing the malt liquor license for Clark McNaughton of Old Town Bowling Lanes, 156 Center St.

. A new victualer’s license and malt and vinous license for Yan Wen Zhao and Sufang Wei of the Hong Kong Buffet Restaurant, 492A Stillwater Ave.