Sangerville hires animal control officer

SANGERVILLE — With the position having been vacant for several months following a retirement, the town of Sangerville now has a new animal control officer and deputy.

Shanna Webb is the animal control officer and her daughter Brianna Johnston is her deputy, with the hires being made for the two to start right away during a Sept. 17 Sangerville Select Board meeting. The two have a state-licensed farm/animal sanctuary in Orneville Township and currently serve as animal control officers in Charleston and Ripley.

Webb has been working in Charleston since 2007, and she told the select board Johnston is also licensed in the event of illness or being out of town

“We have the capability of taking in livestock, dogs, cats, we deal with the whole enchilada,” Webb said about their farm on Route 11 in Orneville Township.

“If there’s cows in the road, we dispatch our trailer,” she said. “We provide our crew, we get them gathered up out of the road if the owner is unavailable.”

When asked, Webb said they could be in Sangerville in under an hour.

“Our best feature is that we are great at getting the job done efficiently and correctly,” she said.

Their rate would be $16.50 an hour and 50 cents a mile for dogs and cats and a $250 flat fee for calls requiring a trailer and people.

“People are not beating down the door to do this job. I like what I hear,” Town Manager Brian Mullis said. He said the decision is up to the board but these rates are similar to those of previous long-time Animal Control Officer Joe Guyotte.

“There are two things we care about, compassion for the animals and the job being done correctly,” Select Chair Jeff Peter said.

Sangerville has been using an animal shelter in Lincoln and whether this arrangement continues is to be determined. Webb and Johnston charge a yearly shelter fee between $900 and $1,000, which is similar to that of the Lincoln shelter.

“It sounds like a fit, we are excited to have animal control again,” Peters said.

In other business, Sangerville officials discussed the SAD 4 budget process following district residents turning down an approximate $9.5 million budget earlier in the month. This was the third referendum to be voted down since June. 

The next version of the budget will be brought to a district meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, with a 6:30 p.m. information session, at Piscataquis Community Elementary School. The total approved that evening will be moved to a referendum in the six SAD 4 towns on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Sangerville’s polls are set to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 .m. at the Grace Bible Community Room, 40 Douty Hill Road. Absentee ballots will also be available.

In his report Mullis said the Wednesday prior was a public hearing on a $100,000 State of Maine Community Development Block Grant economic development program grant application for Two Knights Brewing Company. The grant would help the business expand by purchasing canning equipment which allow for Two Knights Brewing Company beer to be sold in area stores. 

“It was attended by just exactly (co-owner) John Riitano and myself,” Mullis said. “As I said to John, that’s a good thing because when you have a public hearing and no one shows up that means nobody has any issues.”

Mullis continues to work on trail grants, looking to submit a Maine Trails grant application by the end of the next week for a pair of paths. One would be around Veterans Memorial Park and the other will be in a town-owned lot adjacent to the public works garage.

The day prior Mullis was at the Guilford town office to meet with Androscoggin Bank Senior Vice President John Simko – who is a former Sangerville town manager — to learn more about the Maine Bond Bank in case something is put before Sangerville voters concerning road work.

While there, Mullis also met with Guilford Town Manager Johanna Turner.

“We had a very positive meeting,” Mullis said. “We definitely identified some areas where Guilford and Sangerville could be working together for everybody’s benefit and we’re going to pursue those and continue to meet regularly and work together.” 

Economic development, emergency medical service and the future of DuvalTex were mentioned as examples.

“Working together is really the only thing that makes sense,” Mullis said.