Buckfield Board of Selectmen

Jan. 23, 2019

Buckfield Municipal Building

Salt and sand shed

What happened: Town Manager Joe Roach shared the engineering report on repairs for the 10-year-old salt and sand shed.

What it means: The report was penned by Al Hodsdon of A.E. Hodsdon Consulting Engineers of Waterville after the Public Works crew noticed bulging on the side walls of the shed in the winter of 2017. The report shows there are also damaged roof trusses, the shed was overfilled and there were inadequate design sketches. Recommendations include securing the concrete wall with buttresses, crack sealing, covering reinforced steel, and installing and bracing wooden framing for a project total of roughly $100,000.

What’s next: Roach will research funding and construction options, including the cost to build a new shed versus fixing the old one.

Audit

What happened: Amanda Schultz Brown of Smith and Associates CPAs presented the town’s draft audit report, which was accepted as presented.

What it means: Highlights include $743,661 in the unassigned fund balance, with $161,000 to be used in fiscal year 2018-19 to reduce taxes; revenues exceeded expected projections by roughly $86,000; and departments underspent their budgets by roughly $85,000. Recreation was the only area that was overspent. Schultz Brown said there were no issues with the audit.

What’s next: A member of Smith and Associates CPAs will work with Town Clerk Cindy Dunn to set up self-balancing accounting through Northern Data Systems to improve the town’s accounting system.

Traffic hearing

What happened: Selectmen scheduled a hearing for the town’s No Thru Truck Traffic Ordinance at the beginning of their next meeting.

What it means: The three roads that are included in the hearing are Sodom, River and South Hodgdon Hill. GPS sometimes brings truck drivers down Sodom and River roads and the trucks have had to be towed out of there, according to board Chairman Cheryl Coffman. Roads already restricted to through truck traffic under the ordinance include East Buckfield, Paris Hill, Bear Pond and North Hill.

What’s next: A public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Municipal Center, 34 Turner St. Selectmen can act on the ordinance after the hearing.

Committee appointments

What happened: Selectmen made appointments to town committees.

What it means: Cody Andersen was appointed to the Beautification, Parks & Conservation Committee and Education Exploration Committee for one year each. Peter Coleman was appointed to the Appeals Board for three years.

What’s next: Roach will ask Andersen his preference regarding serving on the Planning Board or Ordinance Committee because serving on both could be a conflict.