by David Walsh
In a nutshell, residents of Stonington are obviously pleased with the way the Board of Selectmen is running the town.
All but one of the 79 articles on the March 1 annual town meeting warrant were approved as written almost as fast as moderator Skip Greenlaw could read them; the meeting was over in two hours.
The lone exception, Article 71, was a request to raise and appropriate $1,200 for Child and Family Opportunities (Head Start), which had requested $1,600. The selectmen recommended $1,200.
When asked why the selectmen had recommended a lower sum, board member Evelyn Duncan said the board was attempting to keep taxes down for the residents of the community.
A spokesman for the agency said all towns were assessed a sum based on the number of children enrolled. Asked how many children were enrolled, she said there were a total of eight from Stonington. It was moved and approved to raise the sum requested.
The selectmen had recommended a budget of $1,229,700, that was 9 percent over last year’s budget of $1,119,360. The final budget approved came to $1,230,100.
Voters approved articles 2 through 11, dealing mostly with bookkeeping and procedural matters, in 18 minutes, prompting Greenlaw to say, “So much for the easy stuff.”
The townspeople then went on to approve raising $69,750 for the administration account, $124,690 for wages, salaries, Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes for town employees, and $19,550 for operation and maintenance of the town hall.
They also raised another $1,000 for the town hall reserve and a final payment of $63,000 for the town hall renovation debt service.
The health insurance increase from $16,000 to $40,000 prompted questions from the audience about why the increase was so high. Selectman Evelyn Duncan said each January for a limited time, employees can apply to join the town’s insurance program. This year, because of changes in the policy, employees had more options, so a number of employees decided to rejoin the plan, bringing the total to seven employees.
Voters also approved to pay $66,500 for three days a week of supplemental policing services provided by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department.
Residents endorsed the board’s recommendation to raise $8,000 for economic development in Stonington. The town was receiving funds through a grant, which has since expired. The appropriation, according to board members, will allow for keeping the momentum going in Stonington in economic development efforts.
Fire department appropriations were approved with a minimum of discussion. The department will receive $47,000, $10,000 for equipment reserve, and $20,660 for debt service on the E-One tanker/pumper. The town also authorized the selectmen to sell one 1976 International fire truck.
Following the discussions on fire department matters, Greenlaw asked all department members attending the meeting to stand; he then asked the audience to show the community’s appreciation for their service to the community—and the volunteers were applauded.
Selectmen recommended raising $40,502 for debt service for the transfer station which will be paid off in April 2011.
The town approved the sum of $113,550 for town roads.
The assembly approved the reconstruction of Bayview Street corner and seawall. The overall project will cost $55,000, with $12,000 borrowed, $23,500 from the Bayview Reserve, and $20,000 from the Rainy Day Reserve.
The request for $5,000 for the former elementary school building reserve account and $5,000 for the gym building reserve, brought comments from Augustus “Sonny” Bartlett, concerning rental costs for rooms in the building. He also questioned the amount of money in the current reserve accounts. If the rents were increased, he said, they wouldn’t have to go after the taxpayers.
The board members gave several reasons for not raising the rents at this time. The reason for refurbishing rooms in the old school was to provide a place for new businesses to incubate. Rooms were renovated and new carpeting had been installed to make the rentals attractive to new businesses.
Bartlett said he believed the town should be making a profit off the buildings. Selectmen added that reserve funds were needed to continue to make major repairs to areas such as the roof, which was damaged by the recent wind storm, and to replace siding and install additional insulation to the building.
Town manager Kathleen Billings-Pezaris told Bartlett that she could not give him the exact figures of the sums in the two reserve accounts because she has not yet received that information from the town auditors. She said the gym account was approximately $16,000 and the school account was estimated at $57,000.
The reason for an article requesting $2,500 from undesignated funds came from the town manager, who said they would like to use the money for the upkeep of the town’s athletic field, in mowing, brush cutting, and drainage work.
Voters also approved a one-time appropriation of $3,000 to the Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society. Tinker Crouch, speaking on behalf of the organization, said the society has been serving the Island for 50 years and has acquired a large collection of artifacts and archives and is now bursting its seams and in need of more storage and exhibition space. They also plan to add a well and leach field to the property.
Crouch urged everyone to visit the facility and see all the changes that have been made in recent years.
Before the meeting adjourned, selectman Chris Betts publically thanked outgoing chairman John Robbins for his years of service on the board. All town employees, former planning board chairman Bob Dodge, members of the ambulance corps, and various town departments and committees were recognized for their service to the community.
Refreshments for the meeting-goers were provided by the Recreation Committee.
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