Woodbury gets off to a quiet start in Sangerville

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    SANGERVILLE — Dr. Kenneth Woodbury’s first selectmen’s meeting following his appointment as town manager went off without a hitch last week.
    Sangerville selectmen’s meetings are often lengthy, contentious affairs. But not this time.

    The agenda was rather light; and when Chairman Bill Rowe opened the floor for public comment at the beginning of the session, not a single person asked to speak.
    Woodbury and the board spent part of the meeting organizing his office which has had chronic problems with outdated computer and phone equipment.
    One new feature to be added is a separate phone line to the town manager’s office. “The girls in the office are not receptionists or secretaries,” said Rowe. “So they don’t need to be answering calls for the town manager.”
    Since the three office phones are several years old, the board took Woodbury’s suggestion to replace them with multi-line units with call waiting and caller ID at roughly $99 each. The amount of labor involved to install the additional line and inspect the existing was questionable, however, especially with the ongoing strike at FairPoint.
    But Selectman Tom Carone questioned the wisdom of spending the money this close to the March annual town meeting. “Is this considered absolutely necessary? I’m all for it. But in January, we usually only spend money necessary to run the town,” Carone said. “Can we get by for the next two months with what we have?”
    Rowe said that the new phones “are part of our effort to increase efficiency in the town office, if nothing else” and there was enough money in the current budget to handle it.
    Carone quipped that if the FairPoint strike doesn’t end, “We may not get them installed before town meeting, anyhow.”
    So the motion that eventually passed authorized Woodbury to purchase the phones and make arrangements for the installation. Carone joined Rowe and Selectman Melissa Randall to make the decision unanimous.
    On a related matter, the board voted to grant Woodbury a $20 per month stipend toward his cell phone bill since he plans to use it quite often for town-related business.
    A town-owned cell phone used by previous Town Manager David Pearson was described as “almost ancient” by Rowe “and the service doesn’t work worth a damn in Greenville (where Woodbury lives).”
    Woodbury also said that his cell phone number is “widely-known” and he’ll be glad to share with anyone.
    The board voted to further investigate the status of a tax-acquired property on Goff Road since the owners want to put it up for sale, but can’t legally because they no longer have the title to it.
    The owner, who is not being identified because of privacy concerns, was at the meeting with a relative and said that she’s been looking into several options to keep her home.
    Rowe said that while the town legally has to advertise the property, “We are under no obligation to accept the highest bid.” Randall added that it has never been the town’s policy to “make money on a foreclosure sale” but to just recoup the back taxes.
    At the suggestion of Selectman Tom Carone, the board voted to flip their traditional meeting schedule in February so members could attend the School Administrative District 4 Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Carone said that school districts traditionally discuss their budgets in February, so it would be advantageous for the board to monitor the talks.
    Usually, the Sangerville Board of Selectmen meets on the second Tuesday and fourth Thursday of the month. But next month, the sessions will be on the fourth Tuesday and second Thursday: Feb. 12 and 24.