SABATTUS — The Board of Selectmen opened its meeting Tuesday evening by honoring police officer Ralph Destefano on his recent retirement.

Destefano, who was on the force for 12 years, said it was an honor and privilege to service the community.

“I’ve fallen in love with this town and the community,” he said.

The newest member of the police force, Matthew Bowers, was sworn in by Town Clerk Suzanne Adams.

A resident of Muffin Road asked the board for assistance in handling noise and environmental pollution from a neighboring property. 

“I’ve lost the use of my backyard because of the noise coming from the heavy equipment and the diesel smoke,” the man said.

Code Enforcement Officer Dennis Douglass addressed the complaint and explained that he visited the property but was not able to contact the owner. He said a letter will be sent to ask if the property was being used as a business and if so, the property owner would have to bring it to the Planning Board.

Selectman JP Curran thanked the resident for taking the appropriate steps to rectify this situation.

The board agreed that the removal of nuisance or undomesticated animals will be the responsibility of damage control agents, as defined by the state.

Town Manager Tony Ward had approached Lisbon officials about having their animal control officer assist Sabattus with these situations and learned municipal animal control officers are not allowed to trap undomesticated animals. He also learned that while animal control officers can be certified to trap and remove nuisance animals, they are discouraged to get a license for it within their community.

The board unanimously voted to award the contract for winter sand and salt to the lowest qualified bidder after a test sample of the material passes town specifications. St. Laurent & Son Inc. and Premier Development submitted bids. 

The town received a bid from ProSeal LLC of Waterville for sealing about 15 public roads but tabled a decision pending more information. The town has allocated $192,000 for road repair.

The Ordinance Review Committee has been working on formatting and editing about 40 outdated ordinances. Douglass presented the board with five recently edited ones — Addressing, Adult Only Business, Alarm System, Animal Control and Automobile, Graveyard, and Junkyard — for review. A public hearing on them will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, at Town Hall.

Ward and Labonte will meet with Pine Tree Engineering and All States Materials Group next month to identify and prioritize a five-year maintenance plan for the repair and upkeep of town roads.

The board appointed Connie Castonguay to the Board of Assessment Review committee, effective immediately. The term expires Dec. 31, 2018.

The board unanimously approved the adoption of the 2016-17 General Assistance amendments as mandated by law.

The property owned by Darwin Webster in Greene that abuts Sabattus is still being reviewed by attorney Marty Eisenstein, Ward said. The town has set a cap of $1,000 for it.