Commissioners extend contracts for Orneville

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT —  Moosehead Rubbish will continue to operate and transport waste from the county’s transfer station in Orneville Township as the commissioners approved a pair of three-year contract extensions with the business during an Oct. 6 meeting.

“There’s two contracts here,” Interim County Manager Tom Lizotte said, with the agreement for operations and maintenance totaling $38,500 and the transportation contract for $1,500 to together equal $40,000. Lizotte said several years ago Sean Bolen of Moosehead Rubbish was the sole bidder for the Ornville Transfer Station, and Bolen was agreeable to three more years, from Nov. 1 through late 2018, at the same rate. Moosehead Rubbish has been operating the facility for close to a decade.

In the last few years Bolen has had no real issues in Orneville, other than some unorganized territory residents walking in and leaving their trash during off-hours. “I put up a sign that said no dumping and smile for the camera and that stopped the walk-ins,” Bolen said.

“It’s worked out really well, we don’t get too many calls here on solid waste,” Lizotte said.

In other business, Lizotte said Finance Administrator John Baiamonte submitted his letter of resignation and he plans to leave next month after about a year and a half in the position. Lizotte said one possibility may be to cover the finance administrator duties with current employees, and the commissioners and County Treasurer Johanna Greenfield went into an executive session on Oct. 6 to discuss this idea.

In his report, Lizotte said the budget advisory committee was scheduled to have its first meeting on Oct. 7. He said the committee would appoint its chair and vice chair and set up a schedule to review and work on the spending plan. “Every year their two goals are to reduce county expenditures and not have a tax increase,” he said.

Lizotte said the budget advisory committee would also be having a tour of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department office space with Sheriff John Goggin. A referendum question on the Nov. 3 ballot will ask residents for approval to issue general obligations bonds for $610,000 to finance a new sheriff’s office building on county land at the corner of East Main and School streets.

Public tours of the existing complex will take place on Monday, Oct. 19 from 4-7 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 21 and 28 from 1-4 p.m. “Individuals can come in any time they want when it’s open, Monday through Friday 8 to 4,” Lizotte said.

Emergency Management Agency Director Tom Capraro reported, “The storm last week, there was some damage around the county but nothing major.” He added that while some parts of the state did have roads washed out by heavy rains, the amount of monetary damage was not close to meeting the threshold required for Maine to receive federal aid dollars.