Selectmen Assign New Road Names

Town Sells Foreclosed Trailer

Town To Explore Safe Route To School Grant

Salt Shed Idea Put On Hold For Now

Town Working With Cell Tower Company

Chipping, Sweeping, & Grading –Oh My!

Recycling Rate Holds Steady

Visitors Sought

Exercise Classes on Wesnesdays

Selectmen Assign New Road Names

(Lamoine) — Lamoine has three new road names, while a fourth name has been challenged. Selectmen named Dorothy's Lane which is a short spur off Misty Way in the Marlboro Mist II subdivision. Cardinal Drive leads off Mud Creek Road, and Memory Lane is located off Lamoine Beach Road, just past the Mill Road intersection.

Selectmen also assigned the name Lobster Lane to the section of Seal Point Road that leads to the lobster pound. One of the property owners along that road has objected to the name, and Selectmen may reconsider their vote in early April. Originally the entire area was assigned Seal Point Road, but a change in configuration prompted the suggested name change.

Several roads serving the Pine Grove Estates Subdivision will be names in April.

Town Sells Foreclosed Trailer

(Lamoine) — Selectmen have entered an installment agreement, selling a mobile home on Francis Drive to the owner of the land on which it sits. The home, abandoned as a residence several years ago, belonged to Lawrence Robbins, now of Sullivan. He did not pay the 2003/04 taxes or any subsequent tax bill, having moved out of the now uninhabitable structure. The trailer is full of personal property, and landowner Wesley Bentivoglio has agreed to purchase the it for $640, the amount of back taxes, fees and interest. When the final payment is received Selectmen will issue a quit-claim deed to Bentivoglio.

Town To Explore Safe Route To School Grant

(Lamoine) — “You can almost set your watch by the trucks”. That's how Tina Weaver of Bear Point Way describes her journey to school and back each day as she and her children accompany their oldest sister on the daily trek. The rebuilt section of Route 184 has a much wider shoulder than before, but there are no sidewalks from Shore Road to the school, except for one in front of the portable classroom.

Selectmen may apply for a grant from the State Department of Transportation to build sidewalks along that stretch, which serves as a major route of travel for large trucks going to and from the several gravel pits down the road. The Safe Routes to School program utilizes state and federal funds for such projects. According to the program administrator many communities are applying for grants this year, and funding is limited.

Selectmen have also requested that shoulders on Route 184 be widened out to accommodate bicycle traffic on the sections that were not rebuilt. Shoulders on Douglas Highway and Lamoine Beach Road are extremely narrow and may have been a contributing factor in last June's accident that killed 14-year old Jina Haslam. The work list has been submitted to MDOT.

Salt Shed Idea Put On Hold For Now

(Lamoine) — Selectmen have put discussion of a town owned salt/sand shed on the back burner for this year after doing research and coming back with potentially astronomical costs. It was estimated a shed that would accommodate the salt and sand used on local roads could cost nearly $300,000.

Nankervis Trucking is responsible for storing salt and sand under the snow plowing contract that has one more season to run. When the next contract is bid out, Selectmen will likely ask for two prices, one where the contractor provides for storage and one where the town owns a storage building. If the difference is substantial enough, it might prove to be cost effective for the town to erect a salt/sand shed.

Town Working With Cell Tower Company

(Lamoine) - Cellular telephone users are usually out of luck in parts of East Lamoine. The signal strength is virtually non-existent at times. The town has been contacted by a Massachusetts based tower company about leasing land near the closed landfill for a possible tower site.

Town officials provided GPS coordinates to the company which may bring in a crane sometime this spring to conduct a signal test. The area by the landfill is one of the higher points in town. In addition to cell phone service, the tower could be attractive to wireless Internet companies which could possibly solve some of the high speed internet issues in parts of town not served by the Cable TV system. Any tower lease would require town meeting approval and permits from the Planning Board.

Chipping, Sweeping, & Grading –Oh My!

(Lamoine) — May and June could be busy months for contractors on town roads. Selectmen in late March were working on specifications for three cleanup projects.

Wind storms in the past few years brought down numerous limbs, branches and tree trunks that litter many roadsides. Road Commissioner Dennis Ford says they really need to be cleaned up, and bids are due in early May for that project.

The annual sweeping of sand from the town roads is also out to bid, with the estimates from contractors due on April 20th.

Ford has also suggested that several roads have shoulders shaped with a grader. Winter sand buildup over the past several years have created berms that prevent water from properly running into the ditches. Bid specifications for those roads were being drawn up at the end of March for submission to the Selectmen prior to going to bid. People interested in obtaining fill from the project are urged to keep posted with the town office for permission forms.

All bid documents will be posted on the town's website (www.lamoine-me.gov). The town has budgeted money for all the projects.

Recycling Rate Holds Steady

(Lamoine) — Lamoine residents recycled 34.7% of their waste in 2005 according to the latest report filed with the State Planning Office. The rate is slightly higher (2.3%) than the 2004 rate of 32.4%.

The figures are based on the amount of trash sent to the incinerator in Orrington, the materials recycled through the Maine Resource Recovery Association, the estimated amount of cardboard recycling, and items that come in and out of the swap shop.

Visitors Sought

(Ellsworth) — Faith in Action is looking for volunteers to visit elderly and disabled people in their homes. Director Jo Cooper (Lamoine's Selectman Chair) says her organization desperately needs volunteers to visit lonely people on a regular basis, as well as drivers who can take people to appointments, shopping or even the library. Training is planned for Friday, April 21st at St. Dunstan's Church in Ellsworth. People should register by calling 664-6016 by April 19th.

Exercise Classes On Wednesdays

(Lamoine) - Health Link, Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, is holding an enhanced strength training exercise program each Wednesday morning at 8:30 at the Lamoine Baptist Church. Call Iris Simon at 667-2474 or 667-5094. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.