WOODSTOCK – In a vote of 65 yes to 91 no at the annual town meeting Monday, the Bryant Pond Post Office’s name won’t be changed.
Voters were asked if they’d be willing to change the name to the Woodstock Post Office.
Some opponents said it’s been the Bryant Pond Post Office for many years, and they wished to leave the name as is.
Bryant Pond is the main village in the town of Woodstock, a name it’s had since the early 1800s. It was named for the town’s first settler, Christopher Bryant. In 1815, the town was named Woodstock after a town in England by the governor of Massachusetts when he approved the town’s charter.
In support of the change, resident Marcel Polak said, “I’ve changed my address four times, and I finally got an address in the town where I live. This is the town of Woodstock, its zip code is 04219, and that’s all that matters. The post office represents the town, not a little hamlet.”
Town Manager Vern Maxfield said, “I have talked with postal officials in Portland and they say go ahead and vote on the change, if we want to. But, that doesn’t mean we’ll accept the change. I would just as soon see it stay as it is.”
Another article, which asked voters to authorize the town’s solid waste committee to set and charge disposal fees for items other than regular household waste, also was soundly defeated. Several residents said that they felt charging fees above the $95,000 raised each year for waste disposal was double taxation.
Lifelong resident and former Selectman Ethel Davis said, “We’re already paying for waste disposal through taxes. Aren’t we going to be paying again? That’s double taxation, and if we pass this we are giving them (the Solid Waste Committee) a blank check.”
Selectman Steve Bies, a Solid Waste Committee representative, said that under current rules it’s probable that people from surrounding towns are leaving large items off at the G&W Transfer Station because they would have to pay in their own towns.
“We are the only town in the area that doesn’t charge a fee for refrigerators and other large items,” said Bies, “We had 150 refrigerators left off last year for 800 households. That seems like an awful lot for a small town like ours. If we can set and charge fees for items like that, it will encourage people to deposit them in their own town. We are not looking to make money, but have more control over what comes in.”
The rest of the 63-article warrant was passed as recommended by the selectmen.
The remaining articles mostly concerned the 2003 municipal budget, municipal elections and miscellaneous issues.
For the municipal budget, voters approved spending $742,100, a figure that was down $11,916 from the $754,016 approved last year. That figure, however, increases to about $1,451,800 when the school assessment for SAD 44, the Oxford County tax and a small overlay are factored in. The school assessment is estimated at $649,500, up about $27,373 from 2002, the county is up slightly by $3,821 to $60,000 and the overlay is down to $200 from $535 last year.
When these figures are added to the municipal budget, the 2003 budget will total about $1,069,448, up about $87,088. However, voters approved reducing the final tax commitment to $1,036,448 by authorizing the selectmen to use $415,352 from revenues, surplus and the state homestead exemption to reduce the actual amount that has to be raised.
The elections saw former veteran Selectman Leon Poland elected for a 3-year term. Poland served in that capacity from 1992 to 2001. When he learned that current chairman Mike Nadeau had decided not seek re-election, Poland decided to try to return to the board. He was unopposed.
The only seat that was contested was on the Board of Trustees for Whitman Memorial Library. That seat was won by Stacy Millett who polled 37 votes to 23 for Naja Bolio and 13 votes for Valerie Forman.
Phil Korhonen was elected to another three-year term on the school board for SAD 44 and Patricia Thurlow was given another three-year term as a library trustee.
About 160 people attended the meeting. Maxfield said that was the largest turnout for a town meeting since 1989.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
