Town Explores Options on Subdivision Road

(Lamoine) — Town Attorney Tony Beardsley is exploring what actions the town should pursue, if any, in regard to a subdivision road built within a few feet of an abutting mobile home. The Board of Appeals refused to act on a submission by Teresa Rohner after neighboring subdivision developer Ronald Simons built the entrance road to the Pine Grove Estates subdivision next to her home.

Planning Board Chair Stuart Branch and Code Enforcement Officer Dennis Ford met with attorney Beardsley in late December. Branch wondered whether the subdivision proceedings could be reopened. Branch said the Planning Board probably would not have approved the subdivision had Rohner's mobile home been shown to be only a few feet from the subdivision road.

Rohner and Simons have both retained attorneys in the property line dispute case. The town attorney directed CEO Ford to issue a building permit on one lot of the subdivision that was recently sold and could support a septic system. The remaining lots in the plan as approved pump effluent into a common septic system, and the location of the service road could significantly impact the design of that system.

The issue will be on the Planning Board agenda again in January. The Board discussed the issue in December and asked both Mr. Simons and Ms. Rohner if they would be willing to share newer surveys done on the property.

Gym Fundraiser Eclipses $100,000

(Lamoine) - As her family noted the 6-months since Jina Haslam's death, the outpouring of community support for a new gym in her memory reached a major milestone. The “Jina's Gym” fund hit $100,000 in donations and other revenues by December 20th. The contributions have ranged from coin drives at various schools to $10,000 from a philanthropist. Jina's parents, Patti and Bob Haslam, and grandparents Enid and Bill Neleski have worked tirelessly on the fund raising effort and say they're gratified by all the support. At the same time Bob has been recovering from heart surgery and has been unable to work, compounding the family's emotional struggle.

Raising the money to build a new gym for Lamoine might prove to be the easier part of the process. Potential cost estimates range up to a million dollars or more. The Lamoine School Committee is charged with project, and has been looking at the repairs needed to the current school building. An application to the State Education Department was pending at the end of the year. If approved the school would receive a small grant and an interest free loan to perform renovations at the existing school to improve things such as the electrical system, the septic and water systems, lighting, ceilings and insulation.

Meanwhile, the Jina's Gym effort is moving full speed ahead. Supporters have even gone as far as to contact nationally televised programs that help with community projects to see if there is any interest in assisting. Details are available at www.jinasgym.org.

Town Survey Revealing

(Lamoine) — The experts on surveys say a pretty good return rate is between 5% and 10%. The return rate for Lamoine's Long Range Planning Committee was nearly 40%, and folks had a lot to say. The trick for the committee now is to figure out what the town as a whole is saying.

Committee members handed out 525 surveys on Election Day. By the return deadline of November 22nd about 250-surveys had been returned or filled out on-line. The complete survey results are now posted on the town's website (www.lamoine-me.gov/survey).

So what does the survey say? On development issues, the town seems to be somewhat split. The question of whether zoning ought to be put in place to encourage business was answered yes by 101 and no by 127 respondents. On the question about whether a committee ought to look into potential industrial zones, 136 said yes and 84 said no.

The concern about drinking water was nearly unanimous, with only 12 respondents saying they were unconcerned about the quality and quantity of drinking water in the future.

Whether Lamoine should continue to have it's own school in the future is also an apparent divisive issue. Having a school in town was important to very important for 135 respondents, and not all that important to 80 of those surveyed. Affordable housing promotion was favored by 160-respondents, while half that number said it was not that important.

Comments included with the responses included a lot of concern about speeding traffic and trucks. The committee will study the results and prepare a report for Selectmen.

Mailbox At Town Hall Proves Popular

(Lamoine) — Ellsworth Postmaster Bob Brydon personally brought the official mailbox and helped install it after town officials requested that one be located in Lamoine. It's become an instant hit, with folks shaving 10-miles off the trip into the city to drop off their outgoing mail in a more secure location than a rural delivery box.

Selectman Cynthia Donaldson had requested that the town inquire to the US Postal Service about getting a mailbox due to theft problems over the years. The request had been rejected verbally on a few occasions before, but was approved this time when the security issue was emphasized. The shiny “new” mailbox is actually about 45-years old. Postmaster Brydon said the heavy steel mailboxes are refurbished in Auburn then delivered to where they are needed and bolted to cement blocks.

Milt Hultman & Bob Brydon of the Ellsworth Post Office installed the new mailbox on November 1, 2005

Lobster Pound Appeal To Finish In January

(Lamoine) - Provided the owners of the Seal Point Lobster Pound have complied with an agreement with the Lamoine Board of Appeals to erect stockade fencing to dampen machinery sounds, the pound should be finished with the town permitting and appeals process. Neighbors filed appeals when pound owners Anthony and Josette Pettegrow installed a parking area. The complaints were about truck traffic and machinery noise. The Appeals Board asked the Pettegrows to enclose refrigeration units and a generator. The Pettegrows found enclosure would be noisier due to air flow needs, so the fencing proposal was agreed upon. An inspection is planned in early January with a meeting to follow.

Town Meeting Date Set, Ordinance Meeting Discussed

(Lamoine) - Mark your calendar for March 7th and 8th as that will be the week for Lamoine's annual town meeting. Elections will take place by secret ballot on March 7th at the Town Hall from 10AM to 8PM. At this time it's believed only municipal officer elections will be on the ballot as no referenda questions have been proposed or even discussed by the Selectmen. The annual town meeting to pass the usual required items and budget matters will take place the next evening (March 8th) at the Lamoine School Gym beginning at 6:00 PM.

Code Enforcement Officer Dennis Ford suggested to the Selectmen that a separate special town meeting be held to deal with ordinance changes on an annual basis. That would give voters a chance to focus solely on ordinance issues, while the regular town meeting would deal mostly with budget issues, instead of mixing it all into one meeting. The Selectmen are considering such an option.