Recap Town Council Workshop - January 16th 2014

                            RECAP TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP – JANUARY 16TH
Last night’s Town Council Workshop was in my opinion very productive.  The atmosphere in the room was tension free for the most part.  There were only three items on the agenda and I will cover these NOT in the order presented but by the length of time devoted to each.

The shortest was the discussion pertaining to the training required for the Councilors on the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  A gentleman named Keith and I did not get his last name provided an overview of the program and asked Chairwoman Ward about scheduling a class for the Council.

Next, Interim Town Manager, Michael Huston, provided the Council with three organizations who would work with the Council to select a new Town Manager.  Mr. Huston provided the Council with years of experience on both sides of the table about how the process works.  He also provided some dos and dont's from his experience to help the Councilors to make this process smoother and less time consuming.  Mr. Huston’s presentation was done in a professional manner and I believe his guidance was well received by the Council.

The majority of the time was spent discussing the Water Department.  I have to give you background in order to follow this discussion.  At one time the town wanted to take over the control of the Water Department.  In order to do this, the town submitted a bill to the State Legislature for approval.  This bill was sponsored by Representative Dale Crafts and Senator Garret Mason.   

In order to block this attempt to take over the Water Department, the Water Department submitted their own bill to the Legislature.  When the two bills came before the Sub-Committee, the bill presented by the town was dismissed and the bill submitted by the Water Department remained in the Sub-Committee for review.  The Sub-Committee tabled the bill until the town and the Water Department had an opportunity to get on the same page.  

Now this Bill (LD1396) comes up for review on January 22, 2014 and the Water Department was asking the council for a letter stating the town was in agreement or had no objections to moving forward with a Water District this year and a combination of the possibility of a Water/Sewer District in two years.  By converting from a Water Department to a Water District would NOT change the current formation of the Water Department and will NOT raise the current rates of the Water Department.  What this does is provide more legal protection for the town with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).  I did not hear any objection from anyone or the Council, that this is not a good thing for Lisbon.  

However, Mr. LaRochelle made it clear that the bill that was submitted by the town, sponsored by the two representatives of Lisbon and that the bill provided by the Water Department was sponsored by representatives of other towns.  Chairwoman Ward agreed with Mr. LaRochelle, the current bill was not sponsored by the people of Lisbon.  Apparently, the bill submitted by the town and sponsored by the town representatives did not meet the requirements of the Sub-Committee because it was dismissed.  So this is water under the bridge and we move on with the bill before the Sub-Committee.  

I cannot understand why, with everyone in agreement that this is in the best interest of the town, both Representative Crafts and Senator Mason are not supporting this bill.  It is a far cry from being finalized and no one is asking the Town Council to bless this bill, but they are asking that the town provide input to the Sub-Committee in order to move it forward. 

KEEP THIS IN MIND, BEFORE ANYTHING BECOMES FINAL, THE RESIDENTS OF LISBON WILL HAVE TO VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONVERSION OF THE WATER DEPARTMENT TO A WATER DISTRICT!!!!!

Larry Fillmore