Towns and departments to discuss fire contracts with county
By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer
BROWNVILLE — Currently the county contracts with fire departments in Brownville, Milo and Sebec to cover unorganized territories near these eastern Piscataquis County communities. With the contracts coming up for renewal, officials from the county and the towns and fire departments are planning to meet to discuss the matter — a session was scheduled for the county commissioner’s meeting on Nov. 19.
During a selectmen’s meeting on Nov. 13 Town Manager Matthew Pineo said the county is looking to base the contracts on a percentage of valuation rather than a rate of approximately $18,000 annually with Brownville that has been in place the last few years.
When asked Pineo said the new valuation-based plan could result in Brownville receiving about a third — $6,000 — of the $18,000 from the county. Pineo said Brownville covers about 200 square miles in several townships for the county.
Brownville officials have talked with those in Milo as well at the Sebec Volunteer Fire Department about the contract proposals, Pineo said the other departments also are not favoring a valuation-based rate.
In other business, Select Chair Walter Cook said he received a call from Milo Select Chair Wilma Stanchfield inquiring about a possible meeting between the two boards. “There’s quite a few areas where possibly we could save some money,” Cook said.
A meeting between the Brownville and Milo selectmen is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Milo Town Hall. “I think the best thing is to go in without any agenda and just talk,” Pineo said, as the meeting could be a preliminary brainstorming session between the adjacent communities who have some collaborations already in place.
The selectmen approved a motion to use $6,500 from the town-owned property account to purchase a pair of furnace systems for Brownville’s two fire stations. “It’s a safety issue, I have to replace these because the fire department meets there,” Pineo said.
The new propane furnaces will replace the existing systems. The furnaces at the two fire stations are both about three decades old, installed during original building construction, and have cracks and leak carbon monoxide into the air. While members of the fire department do not sleep at the stations, they do hold meetings, such as during the colder months when the buildings are closed up, and the presence of carbon monoxide poses a safety and liability issue.
Pineo informed the board that Brian Hamlin has resigned from the board of appeals. The town manager said this board has not needed to meet for several years, but he could look for a replacement, Brownville could stay with just four members temporarily or decide to lower the number of board members to three. The three options will be considered moving forward, as Pineo said the town has been experiencing difficulties in filling various committee positions.
The regular meeting of the selectmen is the second Wednesday of the month, but in December town officials are scheduled to be at the town office on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. The reason for the week’s move back is that town office employees, including Pineo, will be attending a training session in southern Maine. As a result the town office will be closed for three days from Dec. 10-12.