Gravel Inventory Urged

(Lamoine) - As the town's agreement with Doug Gott & Sons, Inc. to remove gravel from a strip of town owned land nears completion, some in town have urged the Board of Selectmen to obtain an independent inventory of the amount of gravel taken from the town owned land. Several citizens urged the Selectmen to explore sophisticated calculation methods that use aerial photography to compare the land before the gravel removal and after the digging was done.

The town and Gott entered an agreement to sell the gravel on the strip of land between the pit owned by Mary Smith and a strip Gott owns behind the transfer station. Gott requested a year extension which was granted by the Selectmen. The contract gave Gott a year to finish restoration of the pit area and to submit a final settlement with the Selectmen for any excess gravel that might have been removed.

Stephen Salsbury, a surveyor working for Gott, informed the town that the restoration was complete the last week of June, the property lines will be marked and the calculations will be checked by an engineer. Selectmen also determined that the aerial photography measurement was not feasible due to a lack of old landmarks.

Working The Pit

A front end loader removes gravel from the land behind the town owned strip that yielded over 90,000 cubic yards.

Mooring Permit Transfer Request Moot

(Lamoine) — Work for potential changes to the Lamoine Harbor Ordinance will take place in July with submission of several ideas from Harbor Master Gerald Ford. A potential controversy arose this spring when a Mill Road resident asked to moor his boat on a mooring that was permitted to an Ellsworth man. Harbor Master Ford said that would constitute a rental mooring, and that's not allowed. The two men said they've shared the mooring ownership for years, but records show the permit was issued to only one person, while the boat was in the other's name.

Several permit holders surrendered their permits this year, freeing up several for those who've been on the waiting list, including the Mill Road resident. Harbor Master Ford's recommendations will include a requirement that a permit holder actually register a boat at some point, an increase in mooring fees, and a limit on the number of mooring permits on individual can possess. A workshop is planned for the Selectmen's meeting on July 13th.

Turnout Light for June Primary

(Lamoine) - Only 195 of Lamoine's 1,375 registered voters cast ballots in the primary election on June 13th. That's about a 14% total turnout, but 489 voters who have not enrolled in a political party were not eligible to vote. That means turnout was closer to 22%. Republicans turned out the most voters, 128, or 26%. There were 62 Democrat votes cast (19%) and 5 Green Independent (9%). The only closely contested races saw Republicans in Lamoine favor Peter Mills for Governor. He did not win the statewide nomination. Julie Curtis won the Register of Deeds contest in both Lamoine and the whole of Hancock County. Incumbent Governor John Baldacci won renomination locally and statewide, and the Democrat US Senate seat was a dead heat (24-24) in Lamoine, about as close as the state race in which Jean Hay-Bright won the nomination to face Olympia Snowe in November.

Town Attorney Use Policy to Modify

(Lamoine) - Selectmen are expected to give final approval to a new policy regarding staff use of the Town Attorney. Present policy is only one sentence long—basically saying no town official may contact the town attorney without Selectman approval.

The Planning Board and the Selectmen met jointly in May and discussed modification of the policy to allow initial contact authority by certain staff members and board chairs. The new 3-page policy requires the person making initial contact report it to the Board and any follow up would require Selectmen approval.

The town attorney's services are not utilized on a regular basis, and the town does not retain attorney Tony Beardsley on a retainer. A typical year sees attorney fees of less than $2,000 incurred, and the most usual contact is for land use matters.

Tax Rate Likely Same or Lower

(Lamoine) - While Lamoine property owners enjoy one of the lowest property tax rates in Hancock County, the 2006/07 tax bills should not see any rate increase. In fact, if all goes as projected, the tax rate may fall from 7.3 mills ($7.30 per $1,000 valuation) to 7.0 mills.

Increased state aid to education substantially lowered the needed amount from property taxation. Additionally, the Board of Assessors has added about $5-million dollars in new valuation thanks to subdivisions and new home construction to the property tax base.

The assessors are still a few weeks away from their final figures for the 2006 tax commitment, expected in August. The bills should be out a month sooner than the 2005 tax bills which were set back until September due to a revaluation process that took place. The factored revaluation greatly increased the total town valuation, bringing property values closer to actual selling prices. Sales tracking in the past year shows tax values slightly below actual selling prices.

Unpaid Tax Notices Sent Mid-June

(Lamoine) — Property owners who had not paid their 2005/06 taxes were sent notice on June 13th that lien would be placed on the property in 30-days. The notice is required by state law.

Tax Collector Jennifer Kovacs sent out 78 notices via certified mail to affected taxpayers as required. A number of the unpaid tax bills were for small amounts remaining after paying late and not including interest with the payment. At least two properties that included new subdivision lots received notices for multiple lots.

Liens will be filed for those taxes that are not paid by July 13th, 2006. The liens will automatically foreclose to the town if the tax, interest and fees are not paid 18-months after filing the lien, or in January, 2008.

Water Tests Completed

(Lamoine) — The town completed its annual water testing on four residential wells and five wells installed around the former landfill. The test results showed no significant changes from previous years, and all the residential well water is drinkable according to state guidelines. The well testing is required as part of the landfill closure agreement with the DEP.

Selectmen Say Sign Change OK

(Lamoine) - Code Enforcement Officer Dennis Ford received a complaint that the Partridge Cove Association had replaced a sign at the entrance to the subdivision road without a permit. He issued a notice of violation to the homeowners' association, and a representative met with the Board of Selectmen in April.

After discussing the situation, it was determined that only the sign board had been replaced, but the posts remained the same, and a complete replacement had not taken place, only maintenance on the sign itself. The Selectmen chose not to impose any fine on the Association and said the replacement did not violate the building and land use ordinance.

New Sign, Old Posts

The Board of Selectmen said no violation exists from replacing the Partridge Cove Sign.