Paris Board of Selectmen, Special Town Meeting

April 9, 2018

Paris Town Office

Disciplinary letter

What happened: After an executive session, selectmen voted to sign a disciplinary letter for an employee’s file. 

What it means: Chairman Rusty Brackett and board members  Scott Buffington, Gary Vaughn, John Andrews and Chris Summers declined to comment on the matter.

Special town meeting

What happened: Roughly 10 residents approved draining the Pine Street Fire Station Fund 2 Account and using money from the Fire Improvement Capital Fund to pay for a new 2018 Ford F-550 pickup and trailer to replace a rusted-out 1994 Ford squad truck.

What it means: The new truck from Ripley & Fletcher Ford in Paris costs $52,829, and the trailer from Scott’s Recreation in Turner costs $5,200. The sum of $45,267 was allocated from the Pine Street Fire Station Fund 2 Account and $12,762 from the Fire Improvement Capital Fund.

What’s next: The trailer was picked up last week and the truck will arrive soon.

Public hearing

What happened: A public hearing was held on proposed changes to the Recall Election Ordinance.

What it means: Any elected official, including school board directors, can be subject to recall.

SHAPE award

What happened: Town Manager Vic Hodgkins announced the Fire Department received the state’s SHAPE award.

What it means: The safety program is through the state’s Department of Labor. Hodgkins noted not many municipalities have earned the award. He commended Assistant Fire Chief Mark Blaquiere and former Fire Chief Brad Frost for their work. Fire Chief Jon Longley publicly thanked the men and women of the all-volunteer Fire Department for their efforts in getting the department ready for the inspection.

What’s next: The designation will help save town insurance costs.  

LED lights

What happened: Selectmen agreed to solicit proposals for upgrading the Fire Station bay lights to LEDs.

What it means: Summers, who is a master electrician, worked with Hodgkins on the project and estimated it should cost between $10,000 and $20,000. The plan is to upgrade 25 250-watt fixtures.

What’s next: Requests for proposals will go out Wednesday, April 18, and are due by 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 8.

Warrant wording

What happened: Selectmen voted unanimously to add the actual vote the selectmen and Budget Committee made to each line item on the warrant.

What it means: The vote from selectmen and the Budget Committee was already included on the special town meeting warrant, where both bodies voted 5-0 to approve the funding for the firetruck.

What’s next: At the annual town meeting, the warrant articles will have the vote from selectmen and the Budget Committee included.

Town report dedication

What happened: Selectmen voted 3-2 to dedicate the annual report to the Paris Fire and Highway departments.

What it means: Voting for the measure were Scott Buffington, Vaughn and John Andrews. Voting against were Summers and Brackett. Brackett wanted to dedicate the annual report to Mike Dignan for his longtime service to the Paris Public Library.

Resignation

What happened: Selectmen accepted Jack Higgins’ resignation from the Parks and Recreation Committee.

What it means: Summers had a 45-minute discussion with Higgins about his resignation. “It seems as though there were some differences of perception and attitude on the board that prompted it,” Summers said. “Jack loves trees and that may not be the sole focus of the board.”

What’s next: Higgins indicated if the town creates a committee regarding trees, he would serve on it.  

Meetings moved

What happened: Selectmen moved their April 23 meeting to Tuesday, April 24, so they can attend the SAD 17 budget meeting. Selectmen also voted to move their May 28  meeting to Tuesday, May 29, because of Memorial Day. The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Office, 33 Market Square.

Budget workshop

What happened: Selectmen set a budget workshop for 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at the Town Office.

Quitclaim deed

What happened: Selectmen issued quitclaim deeds for two foreclosed properties.

What it means: All back taxes, interest and penalties were paid in full on both properties. Town Clerk Liz Knox informed selectmen that the properties were foreclosed on in February. The deeds were for Melanie Corbett for Mount Mica Road and Timothy Ryan for Gary Street.