Town of Lamoine, Maine
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The Lamoine Quaterly - January 2005
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On Line Car Registration Coming,

Voters Reject Land Purchase, Approve Staggered Terms,

Lamoiners Say NO to Property Tax Cap,

Cable TV Channel is On the Air

Cable TV Channel Is On the Air

(Lamoine) - The first telecast on Lamoine’s Cable TV Channel took place in November as the Budget Committee meeting aired live to Cable TV subscribers. Some audio troubles crept up, but reaction was generally favorable.Lamoine’s Cable TV Committee got training on how to run the fancy gear in Mid-December and volunteers will sit down at the controls periodically and broadcast meetings to the many homes that have Adelphia Channel 7.
The town purchased two cameras and the various controls from a company called JMAC in Bangor. Engineers installed the gear in November, and ran the training session. Nicholas Pappas, a freshman at MDI High School manned the controls for the first transmission. The Conservation Commission’s presentation on birds by Michael Good was the 2nd broadcast, and that was replayed several times over the channel. The Cable TV Channel Committee formulated a programming policy which the Board of Selectmen approved in December. Stay tuned for more events!


Volunteer Producers Needed

Checking the camera hookups are engineers Trent Robinson and Bob Wilbur of JMAC
Voters Reject Land Purchase, Approve Staggered Terms for Larger Board

(Lamoine) - The margin was far closer than many expected as Lamoine voters turned down a proposal to borrow $350,000 to purchase land behind the Lamoine Consolidated School and Fire Station. The final total was 541 no and 472 yes, a difference of 69 votes.
The proposal would have given the go-ahead to purchase about 25-acres from three landowners, the largest tract being a 20-acre parcel currently owned by Duane Crawford and Julie Tilden. The town’s Public Works Study Committee was tasked with searching for a suitable piece of land for future municipal needs, and the proposed purchase was the best option in the committee’s opinion. The parcel owned by Crawford & Tilden is currently proposed to become an 11-lot subdivision (see page 2).
It was difficult to gauge the voters preference following the election, and whether enough information had been given prior to the vote to know if the choice was fully informed. A handful of voters showed up for the public hearing before the November 2nd balloting, and opinion was mixed at that hearing as well.
The future of land for municipal needs is still up in the air. Committee Chair Ken Smith indicated he would favor asking the town again, but that is up to the Selectmen, and chairman Jo Cooper said she’s willing to revisit the question. Other parcels may be explored as well.
On the issue of staggering the terms of the Selectmen, the voters were very clear that they favored that question. By a vote of 733 to 275 the voters approved changing the Elections Ordinance to clarify that the newly expanded Board of Selectmen will have staggering three year terms. Beginning with the March 2005 election, three Selectmen will be elected, one to a 1-year term, one to a 2-year term, and one to a 3-year term. The March 2006 and subsequent elections will elect Selectmen to 3-year terms as the terms expire, and so on down the road.
Voters in June 2004 approved a question forced by citizen petition to expand the Board to 5-members.
First Vote for Quentin
Quentin Pileggi takes in the scene as Mom (Bronwyn) casts her ballot. Looking on are Ballot Clerk Kay Bragdon, and Voters Diane & Walter Covey

Lamoiners Say NO to Property Tax Cap

(Lamoine)—Voters in Lamoine pretty much mirrored the state results in dealing defeat to the proposed 1-percent property tax cap dubbed the “Palesky” question. The tax cap question was defeated with 689 votes no and 339 in favor. Turnout for the 2004 general election set a record in Lamoine with 1056 ballots cast. The official voting list had 1,394 names on it, but the list has not been purged in many years so the nearly 76% turnout was likely a much higher percentage. The potential tax cap, as written, could have devastated towns across Maine, including Lamoine, which would have seen about a $400,000 revenue drop.
On other matters for the general election, the Presidential outcome was very close, with Democrat John Kerry garnering 6 more votes than President George W. Bush. The race for Congress saw incumbent Michael Michaud outpoll Republican challenger Brian Hamel 531 to 441. Incumbent Democrat Dennis Damon retained his State Senate seat and won in Lamoine 582 to 459 over challenger John Linnehan. Incumbent Representative Earl Bierman was re-elected as well and defeated Arthur Keenan 566 to 422. Bonnie Cousins, the new Register of Probate won in Lamoine 671 to 322. Republican County Commissioner candidate Bruce Carter outpolled Fay Lawson in Lamoine (545-450), but Lawson won the race with big support from MDI voters.
The only other matter on the ballot was the bear baiting referendum, which was defeated in Lamoine (576-458) as well as losing narrowly statewide.
Six ballot clerks counted the votes, and all the tallies were complete by about 1:30 AM on November 3rd. The election marked the last for Billie Lear who is moving to Hancock.State law requires that an equal number of Democrats and Republicans be named as ballot clerks. Kay Bragdon, Warren Craft and Billie Lear served for the Republican Party while Joan Broussard, Marion McDevitt and Donna Thorburn counted for the Democratic Party. Nearly 170 voters cast their ballots early through absentee balloting, also a new record in Lamoine.

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On Line Car Registration Coming

(Lamoine)- Selectmen agreed to give on-line car registration with the Secretary of State’s office the green light this fall. That means residents with computers can skip the trip to the town office and re-register most vehicles any time of day on the Internet.
The town has supplied the state’s service provider with vehicle information, and the rapid renewal option will soon be ready for testing. Those with January registrations who want to try out on-line are encouraged to contact the town office (town@lamoine-me.gov) to test the service. Only electronic checks (no credit cards) will be allowed for renewal. Once the service is up and running properly, the link to re-register will appear on the town website (www.lamoine-me.gov).