Sangerville officials discuss hazards of Main Street intersection

SANGERVILLE — Several days after an accident with minor injuries at the intersection of Main Street (Route 23) with the Douty Hill Road and Pleasant Street, Sangerville officials heard from residents living nearby about their concerns over the location during an Oct. 1 meeting.

No immediate answers came to mind but the town will reach out to area and state officials to see if anything can be done to help reduce speeding coming toward the intersection, which is located at the bottom of hills coming from the east and west, as well as drivers who fail to stop completely at the stop signs.

“We do all agree with you,” Select Chair Jeff Peters said, wondering if an electronic sign altering drivers to their speed as they approach would be more effective than a blinking yellow light.

Town Manager Brian Mullis has contacted the Maine Department of Transportation about such signs, and one or two could be placed in Sangerville next summer along the state roads.

“Driver inattention, people looking at their phone and blowing through stop signs, has become one of the biggest factors in accidents in the last few years everywhere,” he said.

Mullis said he could reach out to the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office to inquire about some random observance by the intersection and also to the Maine State Police. Residents speaking to the agencies about their concerns could also help.

In other business, the board discussed the town hall roof and the need to sit down with contractor Roof Systems of Maine and Skowhegan-based Wentworth Partnerships & Associates President and Senior Project Engineer Steve Govoni.

Mullis said Roof Systems of Maine does not want to come to town to meet with the select board following some concerns over the scope of work. The town is waiting to make payment until everything is clarified. 

Town Hall Renovation Committee Co-Chair Dennis Campbell said when the roof work was put out to bid two estimates came in with Roof Systems of Maine’s coming in at around $18,000-plus and another from a contractor in Vermont with an amount he cannot recall (Campbell said he has been unable to get a hold of Govoni for the other number).

Campbell believes the Roof Systems of Maine bid was to patch singles and not work on the dormers whereas the other bid included this work, but he would like clarification.

“The dormer was the big issue, the broken shingles were secondary,” he said.

“Unfortunately the position we’re in where we’ve moved out of that building, we are absolutely at the mercy of our engineer that we hired,” Peters said.

Contracts were signed with Wentworth Partnerships & Associates as opposed to the town.

Campbell said two of three dormers have been worked on and he would be okay with paying $30,000 for this work but not around $56,000 if the third dormer has not been touched.

“The third dormer as far as we know it’s not leaking, it’s probably not a problem,” he said. “Does it look pretty? No. It would be nice to have that rusty sheet metal out of those valleys and have copper in there.”

Mullis said he would reach out to all parties to set up a meeting before the bill is paid.

“At this point there’s no decisions to make and we will move on,” Peters said.

Town Treasurer Michelle Nichols discussed a potential treasurer’s waiver of foreclosure on a property that would not have the 2023 taxes paid in full until after the foreclosure takes place. To stop the automatic foreclosure, the town needed to file the waiver of foreclosure with the Piscataquis County Registry of Deeds prior to Nov. 3.

Nichols said the property owner has been making weekly $100 payments to avoid foreclosure but would still have been $200 shy before the deadline.

Several meeting attendees offered to contribute $100 in help out, not knowing who the resident in question is, and this would enable the person to avoid foreclosure. 

“That’s what a real community is right there,” Peters said.

A special town meeting would have been needed in order for the town to allow the treasurer to record a waiver of foreclosure. Nichols suggested a warrant item at the March annual town meeting could give the select board this authorization moving forward, avoiding the need for a special session.

Mullis said two grant applications were submitted the week prior including one for $100,000 through Piscataquis County Economic Development Council to help Two Knights Brewing Compnay expand and the other for $31,000-plus to Maine Trails for funding to build two walking trails in town.  

Another big grant project is through Maine Historic Preservation to help with funding the town hall renovation.

Mullis said Nichols and Deputy Town Clerk Kelsey Shannon have been working to straighten out cemetery records and they are looking into a related grant opportunity through the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Mullis said he recently completed a course in Portland needed to renew his Maine EMS instructor coordinator license, which allows him to teach EMT classes. The town manager and Fire Chief Matt Blockler will be working on a plan to offer a class in town in early 2026 for participants from around the area.

The training will allow the Sangerville Fire Department to become a licensed first responder service, which could be possible by July 1, 2026.

Mullis said he wanted to be clear that even though he is no longer employed by Northern Light Health and has nothing against the health system, “This is saying nothing derogatory against Northern Light, but the simple reality is Northern Light has admitted publicly that they have financial issues. EMS does not make money, it loses money.”

He explained with Northern Light ambulance service being spread very thin and relying more heavily on mutual aid than in the past, ambulances to Sangerville could be delayed despite everyone’s best efforts. If the Sangerville Fire Department is able to provide some basic EMT services for citizens while waiting for an ambulance, it could potentially save lives.

“The key thing to something like that is staffing,” Mullis said.