MECHANIC FALLS — The Town Council Monday gave the go-ahead for plans to install lights for night games at Coleman Field.
The Council’s vote releases the $70,000 townspeople approved for the project at town meeting.
At town meeting the Recreation Committee said it hoped to secure a grant to pay for lights and was relying on the $70,000 in the event the grant request was denied.
The town recently received word the application for grant funding had been denied.
Recreation Committee members Jim Marston and Bill Bickford told the Council that the Committee recently had considered the possibility of lighting the Babe Ruth field instead of the smaller little league field at Coleman Field.
Marston said that estimates of the cost for the lighting equipment needed for the larger field came in at $100,000 — double the $50,000 quote for lights at Coleman Field.
The Council said that lighting the larger field was out of the question as doing the smaller field will require every bit of the $70,000 — noting that the Recreation Committee will be relying on volunteer labor to keep installation costs within the $20,000 available.
The Council also voted to enter into a contract agreement with Dot Fernald of ERA Worden Realty to sell the old library building, next to the bridge over the Little Androscoggin River.
The asking price for the building will be $40,000 with the restriction that the first floor of the three-story building be used for commercial purposes.
Town Manager John Hawley reported that the library’s move into its new quarters on the third floor of the Municipal Building on Lewiston Street is well under way and appears will be under budget.
The space has been wired for computers and security, but the project is being held up because of difficulties finding used library book shelving.
The Council also approved revisions to the Mechanic Falls Water Department rules and regulations.
Water Department Superintendent Steve French reported that the town’s new backup well is now functional and is pumping 224 gallons of sparkling clear water per minute.
He noted that while all the bills aren’t in yet, it appears the project will come in under $100,000. The project had originally been estimated at $156,000 but, French said, a fair amount of the work was able to be performed by department employees.
The Council also accepted with regrets the resignations of Robert Belanger from the Budget Committee and Jim Marston from the Recreation Committee — with Marston agreeing to pitch in to see the lighting project completed — and appointed Jay Bryant and Scott Lessard to the Recreation Committee.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
