Selectmen approve amendments to vehicle operation ordinance

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Several amendments to the ordinance pertaining to the operation of vehicles on town ways were approved by the board of selectmen during a March 28 meeting.

Town Manager Jack Clukey said the proposed changes were discussed at a meeting two weeks prior. “Basically we deleted a whole section on bicycles and replaced it with ‘we are going to follow state law,’” he said about the first amendment.

The second adjustment — which per state statute can be enacted by the board instead of via a town meeting vote — states that angle parking shall constitute parallel parking for the purposes of the ordinance. Also, public parking spots are limited to two hours unless otherwise posted such as to accommodate tenants.

“We talked about a place we would like to see prohibited parking,” Clukey said, with a section of Summer Street near the intersection of North Street now closed to parking on the non-post office side between the two crosswalks.

“That will have an effective date of today,” Clukey said about the ordinance amendments, which will be enacted once the necessary signs are posted.

In other business, Selectman Ernie Clark said a number of residents have told him they are in favor of an increase in the road portion of the proposed 2016-17 municipal budget. He added that these citizens have also said they would like their roads fixed up as part of the plan.

The selectmen and budget advisory committee will hold a public hearing on the various expenditures on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building. The annual town meeting, to affirm the articles for the June referendum, will begin on Saturday, April 30 at 9 a.m. in the Morton Avenue Gym.

Selectman Steve Grammont asked Clukey about the plowing budget. Clukey said he was unsure of the precise total spent so far, saying he hoped the account was finished for the season.

“I think we are ahead and we are hoping to get out as early as we can with summer work,” the town manager said, with a number of roads needing to be graded after the winter. “One thing we are busy with right now is cold patching potholes and everything.”

Select Chair Elwood Edgerly said with changes being made at the Charleston Correctional Facility there is the possibility that the restitution program could be phased out. “If there’s anything we can do to show (Rep.) Norm Higgins, (Sen.) Paul Davis or whoever how important that program is, we should,” Edgerly said.

He said inmates in the restitution program learn how to work with others and building trades, while providing a valuable service to the region with construction projects built for a minimal cost. “I would rather do something now than after the fact,” Edgerly said.

“It’s not just us, it would really be a shame to lose that program,” Clukey said. “We are 100 percent in support of the program and are hoping to communicate that in the process before a decision is made.”

Selectman Scott Taylor suggested that officials from Charleston and/or others from the Department of Corrections be invited to attend a future select meeting.

In his report, Clukey said he has volunteered to serve on a housing advisory committee for Penquis. He said the organization is very interested in looking into a housing project in town, which could be a mix of subsidized and unsubsidized units. Clukey said any development is dependent on if the housing bond is released and funding is made available to the Maine State Housing Authority.