Sheriff ’s office on November ballot

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis County Commissioners voted last week to move up the timetable for a bond referendum for construction of a new sheriff’s office.

 Originally, they leaned toward the June 2016 primary election date, figuring that it might take that long to finish all the legal and logistical preparations.

 But interim County Manager Tom Lizotte assured commissioners last week that a November date was doable and preferable.  

 According to state law, a county bond issue has to be on a statewide referendum ballot. Although this is an off-year for a general election, there will be at least one citizen-generated referendum and possibly one or two statewide bond issues on the November 2015 ballot, Lizotte said.

 “It will be a lot easier to get approval in the fall and start construction in the spring of 2016 than wait for approval in June 2016 and start construction in the middle of the summer,” he said.

 Lizotte added that from a “political standpoint, it might be easier for the county get approval (on the bond) in November. With multiple issues on the ballot in next year’s general election, it’s difficult to get the attention of the public.”

 Sheriff John Goggin said he backed the idea “100 percent. I’d rather see a three-month campaign than trying to promote this to the voters for an entire year.”

 The estimated cost for the new one-story structure, which would be built on the former Liston Smith property, is around $675,000. However, county officials will be working with the Maine Department of Corrections to see if they can supply some inmate labor, which could lower the cost by more than $100,000.

 The current sheriff’s office was built in the late 1880s with an upstairs apartment since the sheriff was required to live on the premises in those days. Goggin’s office is in one of the rooms of the old apartment, accessible only through a narrow hallway and up a steep staircase.

 The squad room, often shared by three or four deputies, is cramped with little or no privacy for interviews and there is little secure storage space for evidence.

 The next step will be finalizing the wording of the ballot and financing options before mid-August. Lizotte also said that there will be public hearings in all three commissioners’ districts before the referendum and that will be ample time to “educate the public on the need for a new office.”

 In other action taken at last week’s meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the appointment of Maria Landry of Brownville as jail administrator. Landry has been serving in an interim capacity since Jan. 11 shortly after Dave Harmon retired and she was highly recommended for the permanent position.

 “Maria has taken over this position with a sense of professionalism I’ve rarely seen,” Goggin said. “She has done an excellent job for us and she’s learning more every day. She’s a very down-to-earth person, a self-starter and gets along with everybody.”

 Landry started at the sheriff’s office in 2003 and has worked as a corrections officer and dispatcher.

 Commissioners also awarded the county’s fuel oil contract to A.E. Robinson Inc., even though they were slightly higher than the lowest bidder, Fettinger Fuels of Exeter.

 Robinson’s bid was $2.223 per gallon while Fettinger’s was $2.219.

 But commissioners spoke favorably of A.E. Robinson’s past service and pointed out that they were a large taxpayer in the community and employed several residents.

 Lizotte said that while it wasn’t a firm policy to give local firms preference on bids, “The difference in price in this case is less than a penny per gallon.”

 The next county commissioners’ meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 7 at 8:30 a.m.

|DNP: true