RECAP TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP – JANUARY 13^TH 

During last Tuesday’s Town Council Workshop, the members of the Council in attendance were Chairman Pesce, Vice-Chair Bickford, Councilors Lunt and Garrison.  The workshop was for the purpose of hearing information pertaining to Moxie Festival; Town Owned Land; Gas/Diesel Pumps Card Swipe System; and the Public Works Garage Addition.  The following is a small summary of each: 

The Moxie Committee spokesperson Gina Mason and Brenda Rogers asked the Council for guidance on the Moxie Festival.  They also asked why the Police, Fire and Public Works Department charged the Moxie Committee for services when this is a town event.  Chairman Pesce agreed with the committee and asked the Town Manager to look into these department budgeting Moxie weekend into their individual budgets. 

Town Owned Land – The Council had requested a listing of the entire town owned land which was provided by the Town Manager.  However, this listing included the building currently occupied and utilized by various departments of the town.  So the Council asked the Town Manager to review the listing and eliminate the properties currently used by the town.  This discussion was tabled until another workshop so the Council could review each property to see if the town can put some of these properties on the real estate market to increase revenue.  According to my figures, there are approximately 91 total properties on the list but 40 of these are utilized by the town.  These figures are unofficial. 

Gas/Diesel Pumps Card Swipe System – Upon review of the gas/diesel controls, it has been verified that the town does not have sufficient controls of these two pumps.  In order to correct this deficiency, the Public Works Director has suggested a card swipe system to control the use of gas/diesel fuels.  After a short discussion, the Council felt that the controls should be by vehicle instead of Department Heads.  The Public Works Director was instructed to look into a system that would meet these requirements and provide estimates. 

Public Works Garage Addition – The Public Works Garage is completely restored and operational.  The town has approximately $166,000.00 dollars remaining from the insurance payment.  The Public Works Director is asking that these funds be applied to adding a 25’ X 80’ steel structure to the current Public Works garage.  This addition is critically needed so that trucks with plows will fit into the building to be worked on.  Currently, the Public Works garage does not fit these vehicles and the doors to the garage have to be left open when the mechanic works on these vehicles.  The Council agreed that this was a good use of these funds and would eliminate the problem of fitting vehicles, to include school buses, into the garage for work.  The Council asked the Town Manager and the Public Works Director to move forward on this project. 

All of these items, with the exception of the Town Owned Land, will be discussed again and voted on by the Council Tuesday night at the next Town Council meeting. 

Larry Fillmore